Don't Hold Me Too Close
by hfmalfoy
Summary: Albus drinks alone but when his coworker and good friend Scorpius Malfoy decides to join in one night that changes everything and messes with Scorpius' head. AS/S m/m slash etc. post hogwarts
1. Prologue

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close (Prologue)

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:

Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:

Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,

And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Prologue

_Al remembered it like it was yesterday. The beads of sweat on his forehead and the way his tousled curls of black hair stuck to his temples as he swallowed a hard lump and took those daunting steps towards the aging sorting hat. Professor Valentine, head of Gryffindor and potions master stood behind the stool. The hall had gone quiet just as it had previously for his brother James and before that his father harry. Suspension. His brother stood up, stretching like a meerkat to see the glorious moment. Al, like in slow motion sat down and bit on his lower lip as the hat was lowered to his thick black hair._

_"Hm...another Potter, eh?" it croaked into Albus's ear. "Wait...it seems you have something to say..."_

_"Oh...I ... I'd like to be in Gryffindor, please..." Albus remembered squeaking out quietly, timidly. He didn't see the point in being rude to the battered old hat._

_"No...I have a much better plan..." Albus remembered biting his lip harder, looking over to his big brother who was grinning goofily to him. "SLYTHERIN!"_

_The first thing Albus saw was his brother's horror, eyes wide, mouth dropping as he slid back into his seat._

_Albus was too shocked to argue, letting the red-haired head of Slytherin lead him to the Slytherin table. He shook, sitting down, mismatched eyes wide._

_Then he remembered a pale hand reach out to him._

_"Hello, I'm Scorpius Malfoy, were going to be great friends!" he smirked, pale grey eyes shining._

Albus yawned, sitting back in his office chair, staring up at the ceiling. He scratched his freckled nose and then sat up, looking to the pile of paperwork on his desk. He looked over to his partner's desk and inhaled sharply. That bastard had finished up already. There was definite resentment there but it was still playful. He sighed, separating the top quarter of the pile and dropping down on the desk in front of him. He picked up the top file and opened it. Oddly it was signed off 'Scorpius Malfoy'. Albus was starting to wonder if the even

bigger pile was his and he'd picked up the wrong one. He reached for the second file down and opened it. Signed off 'Scorpius Malfoy'. So he looked to the other pile, sighing slightly and opening it up. It was signed off. By…you guessed it! 'Scorpius Malfoy'!

The corners of Albus's lips curled up slightly and he chuckled, running a hand through his tangled mess of dark hair. He'd done it all. Perfect Malfoy. Always getting the job done. But never leaving anything for him. He turned around in his chair, taking his robe off the back of it and standing up, slipping it on. He grabbed his wand from his desk and stuffed it into the back pocket of his trousers. He'd have to thank Scorpius later, after his date with Rose.

Albus Severus Potter, however, didn't have such glamorous arrangements for the evening. He hadn't planned to be able to escape the office so quickly and he definitely didn't have someone he could call up at such late notice for a quick date. Or a quick shag. No. That was Scorpius' thing. Not Albus's. Albus checked his watch and after a thoughtful nip of his lower lip decided that he would take this opportunity to enjoy a glass of chilled firewhiskey at the local pub. His green eyes twinkled slightly at that thought, sad as it was, but now was not time for calculating life choices. He sighed, making to the door out of the ministry office he shared with Scorpius Malfoy. He looked back at his own messy desk and Scorpius' tidy one and furrowed his brow very slightly. On the desk sat a framed pictured of a pretty, arrogant black-haired girl with high cheekbones and full, pursed lips. It was Scorpius' girlfriend; Prudence Parkinson. She had a horrible and rather outdated pureblood vanity to her, something that had died out considerably since the war years ago. The picture would smile and wave coyly when Scorpius was around but when it was just Albus the image turned sour, sometimes swearing, smirking or scowling. Albus had learned to ignore it. It still annoyed him sometimes though. Like now. So he turned off the light, smiling to himself as he imagined the annoyance on the face in the frame. That ought to teach her!

Albus decided to check in on his father in the Head Auror office, knocking softly on the mahogany wood door. There was a disgruntled request to enter from inside and Albus poked his head around the door.

"Hey, Dad…" Albus smiled lopsidedly, waving casually.

"Al! Hey! You want to join me?" Harry asked, smiling slightly goofily, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"No, I'm just off, wanted to say goodbye…" Al smiled, noticing the amount of work on his father's desk. "I'll see you on Sunday…don't work too late!"

"Goodnight, son," smiled Harry, watching his son disappear.

Albus stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked towards the main entrance downstairs, aiming for a fireplace so he could get out of here quick. So he could get something warm down his throat that would make his guts feel fuzzy and like one fiery cavern inside of his torso. He smiled to himself as he walked down the hallways he was so familiar with. And then he wondered whether it was the alcohol that gave him those warm, rich feelings in his abdomen. Or whether it was the person he tended to think about once he'd got to that stage.


	2. One: Messy

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close (Prologue)

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Chapter One

Messy

Albus stumbled into his flat, groaning slightly at the throbbing headache he had gained from lonely drinking all evening. He could hear giggling in his living room. Female giggling. Albus frowned slightly, rubbing at his temples. That was too high pitched to be Parkinson and something about it seemed familiar. But if it wasn't Parkinson then who was it? He chose to investigate. If it was in the living room then it wasn't snooping around. That was the most communal room in the flat anyway. So, trailing one sloppy hand on the wall, he made his awkward way to the living room. He slowly pushed the door open and raised an eyebrow at the not so surprising scene that lay before his eyes.

"Oh, Rose…why him?" Albus slurred, groaning and throwing his head back to look at the ceiling in despair. That and his cousin was riding his roommate and her breasts were flopping around, making Albus feel a little nauseous.

"Al! You look awful!" Rose exclaimed, a little short of breath, which only helped to make Albus feel a little more sick.

"Al! I didn't think you'd be back yet!" exclaimed the thick, husky voice of Scorpius Malfoy, who sat up, wrapping his arms around Rose's waist to pull her to his chest so that she was a bit more decent and covered.

"Well…surprise!" Albus groaned, looking back to them, happy to see that they were both actually clothed below the waist down. "I thought you were out with Parkinson tonight…"

"I was…but she got tired and went home…" Scorpius shrugged, watching his roommate cross the room towards the kitchen, hand still trailing on the wall. "Dude…how much did you even drink?"

"Piss off…I'm not the one messing around with my roommate's cousin…not to mention cheating on my girlfrie-bleurgh!"

"I hope you threw up in the sink, Albus Severus Potter! Because I am NOT cleaning up after you!" Scorpius exclaimed, receiving kisses along his neck, which were accompanied by rather erotic moans from the redhead straddling him.

"Shut her up!" groaned Albus, feeling sicker than ever. Something about that made Albus's mind travel all the way back to Hogwarts.

"_So…this is my favourite one…" Scorpius bit on his lower lip and smirked as he passed the magazine over to Albus. Albus took it cautiously and his face scrunched up in revolt._

"_Scorp! That's disgusting! Why would I want to see a woman with her own fingers up herself! Especially a moving one!" Albus face had whitened in disgust as he pushed the magazine back to the Malfoy._

"_Wow, calm down, Al! What's up with you?" _

"_It's just…that's so…pervy! Women aren't sex objects, Scorp!" Albus reached for his potions essay, shaking his head and sighing at his best friend. _

"_Oh…yeah…they are…" Scorpius smirked, casting a charm so that the picture made noises too. "Ahhh! Ng! Ahhh! Ooooh!" _

"_Scorp! Cut it out! Shut her up!"_

Albus hung his head lower over the sink, closing his eyes. Scorpius hadn't changed. Not one bit. He waited a few moments before splashing water over his pale face and straightening up. He turned to make to his room and was confronted with a concerned Scorpius, leaning against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.

"I sent Rose home…are you okay?" Scorpius asked, sounding not all too convincingly sincere.

"Yeah…must have eaten something off earlier at the pub…" Albus gulped, noticing with almost disgust the trail of Rose's Mademoiselle shade pink lipstick all the way down to the top of Scorpius's trousers on his bare chest.

"Or drank too much…you shouldn't go out drinking on your own all the time, Al! It worries me!" Scorpius groaned, sounding like this was more about Scorpius's nerves than it was about Albus's health.

"I wasn't alone…I have friends at the pub!" Albus insisted, gripping onto the edge of the sink so hard his knuckles were turning white. As if Scorpius had the right to tell him what was good for him! He wasn't the one sleeping around!

"Oh yeah? Like who?" Scorpius exclaimed indignantly. He'd never failed to take Albus's words with a pinch of salt.

"Well! Tonight there was Derek!" Albus thought about the friendly sailor in the painting he sat next to. "And then there's Serena!" That was the mermaid that the sailor was sometimes with. "Oh! And you can't forget Angus!" That was the black cat that sometimes hissed at Albus. "I'm never without company!"

Scorpius gave him a calculating look. He'd never been for a drink with Albus at the pub he knew Albus loved so well before so he couldn't tell if Albus was lying or not. He stared Albus down, but considering Albus wasn't very well and Scorpius was horny he let it go. "Fine…but let's get you to bed…you look like death!" Scorpius snorted, roughly grabbing Albus's wrist and guiding him to his room. At the door Scorpius gruffly bid goodnight and stalked off to his own room probably to rub one out. Albus just flopped onto his bed and passed out.

The morning awoke him with a highly unnecessary pressure on his chest, pinning him down. Albus's first instinct was to panic, the phlegm of the night before caught in his throat, making him think he was suffocating. As soon as he coughed he was fine. Well…there was still that pressure on his chest. Groggily, and rather painfully, considering he hadn't closed the curtains the night before, he opened his eyes, looking up at a rather peculiar-looking sight.

"Dude! Get off me!" he croaked out, arm coming up over his eyes as he frowned.

"You know I've been trying to wake you up for…like…an hour…or two!" exaggerated the dark-skinned form of the Zabini son; Macaire.

"Dude! Shut up!" he groaned, sitting up and toppling the heavy-built guy off of him. "I thought you were out of the country training or something!"

"I was, but you know…I had to come back for the argument between Prudence and Scorpius, right?" Macaire laughed, raising one cocky black eyebrow.

Albus took the time to listen and sure enough he could hear the distinctive sound of Prudence's whiny little voice and Scorpius' exasperation. "Why does he put up with it, Mac?" Albus groaned, running a hand through his hair and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"Beats me? Sex?"

"HA!" Albus winced at his own exclamation, clutching his throbbing head.

"Al! You idiot!" laughed Macaire, laying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. "I…thought you might want to know…uh…" there was a long pause.

"What?" grumbled Albus, standing up and going to his wardrobe.

"Well…" Macaire sucked on his white teeth slowly and waited till Albus turned around. "I got promoted to Captain!" he exclaimed, laughing happily and kneeling up on the bed in celebration.

"Mac! I thought you were talking about something important, like…I don't know…I thought you were going to tell me you got kicked off the team!" Albus grumbled, pulling on a dark grey t-shirt.

"Kick me off! Wimbourne Wasps would be losing if it weren't for my skills!" Macaire exclaimed indignantly.

"For a Zabini, you sure act up, Mac…" Albus yawned, pulling on black tracksuit bottoms. "I'm hungry…"

"Whoa!" Macaire scrambled off the bed, slipping slightly on a magazine as he bashed into the door, blocking Albus's way. "No! You can't go out there!"

"Why the hell not?" Albus exclaimed indignantly.

"Well! You see!" Macaire didn't have anything to say. No answer.

"Please…Mac…I'm hungry…and I'll splinch if I apparate now…I'm too hungover…plus I need an aspirin…or a potion…or…wait…" Albus glared at him. "What are you doing in my room anyway?"

"Pru through a mug at me…" Macaire scrunched up his nose. "I sort of…maybe…offended her?"

"You twat!" Albus groaned, running a hand through his hair.

_It was late November and the Slytherin quidditch team were making their way back to the dungeons to celebrate a rather tight victory against Gryffindor. Albus wasn't so happy. Unlike all the other Slytherins who had just beaten only the rival house, Al had just beaten and defaced his older brother. James had been furious, wouldn't speak to Albus. Not after Albus had very nearly knocked him off his Firebolt Reload with his own matching one, beating him to the snitch and effectively winning the game for the Slytherins. _

_Scorpius was nursing a rather nasty bludger bruise on the side of his face with a pack of ice, one lens of his rectangular-rimmed glasses shattered quite remarkably. Prudence, his girlfriend since the beginning of the fifth year was over nattering to her friends and one of Scorpius's cousins about how amazing Scorpius was and how well he'd played and how amazing he was and…Albus couldn't stand it. Butterbeer was uncorked and loud cheers greeted the team as they entered the green common room. Albus was dragged off, people patting his back, exclaiming what a loyal Slytherin he was to play so ambitiously against his older brother. Albus just laughed it off. He didn't want to take it too seriously. _

_Scorpius on the other hand was over in a quiet corner, nursing his swelling face and kicking off his shin guards and boots. Albus was getting worried about the injured Keeper but guessed it was no big deal. That was when Macaire ran over, enveloping Albus in a massive hug and whacking him on the back with congratulations. Albus coughed slightly, his skinny frame almost cracking under Macaire's muscular weight. _

"_Okay! Everyone I'd like to make a toast!" Macaire laughed mockingly and the common room began to quiet down. "As Captain of our fine team! I would like to make this toast to Albus Severus Potter! Named after a Slytherin for a very good reason! Never and I mean never has a child of either Weasley or Potter blood betrayed his own on the pitch and to top it off…done it for the glory of the Slytherins! We salute you, Potter and your marvelous Wronski Feint! THREE CHEERS FOR POTTER!"_

_Albus grinned from ear to ear but it was mostly superficial. He glanced over to Scorpius and noticed he was turned a foul shade of grey. He pushed through everyone, including the sour-faced Prudence Parkinson and managed to redirect Scorpius from throwing up on himself to the floor. _

"_Oh no! Scorpy!" Prudence squeaked, keeping a fair distance away from the vomit. _

"_Can someone get some assistance please?" called out Albus, rubbing the back of the rather violently sick Scorpius. The common room had fallen silent again, but it was a little more deadly. "QUICKLY!" Albus yelled, watching the Flint boy make a run for the door to get someone. "Pru! Help me here please!" _

"_But he's throwing up, Potter!" Prudence squeaked, stepping back. _

"_Stop being such a complete asswipe and come here!" exclaimed Albus, not noticing the fact Prudence's face had reddened at the insult. _

"_Pru, if you really call yourself his girlfriend then get into action!" Macaire yelled, making his way over. Prudence stayed still. "Fucking hell, Parkinson! I can't believe Scorpius is dating a toad like you!" _

Albus shivered as he thought about the aftermath of saying that to the dark-haired girl and the fact that Professor Valentine had had to collect three boys to take up to the Hospital Wing with levitating charms. He sat on his bed resignedly and slouched. Macaire still stood by the door.

Albus arrived at Grimmauld Place mid morning the next day as he'd promised his dad. He'd gone alone as Macaire was back training with the team and Scorpius was out for lunch with Draco and Astoria. Albus knocked on the door, sort of hoping that James wouldn't answer the door. It wasn't that he didn't get along with James, just that it was always awkward at first and Albus was too tired for that. Luckily it was Uncle Ron who answered.

"Al! Hey!" Ron grinned, patting Albus on the back and pulling him into the house. "How are you?"

"Yeah, I'm good thanks…you?"

"Never better…never better…" Ron laughed, jolly and slightly red in the cheeks, probably from a few drinks of Muggle beer he knew Ron liked so well.

"Who is it, Ron?" called out Ginny from the kitchen. Albus felt the corners of his mouth tug up into a slight smile.

"Just me, Mum!" Albus grinned, coming into the kitchen and receiving a back-breaking hug from Ginny. "Ow! Mum! You're hurting me!"

"Hey, Al!" smiled Lily from where she was sitting with Hugo at the table, twirling a lock of bright red hair in her finger. "James is in the living room with Dad and Aunt Hermione!"

"Thanks…" Albus peeled away from Ginny and went towards the living room, ruffling Hugo's hair on the way. Hugo yelled out a profanity with made Ginny scowl and Ron beam proudly. Albus ignored it, walking into the living.

"Al, my man! I want to introduce you to my girlfriend!" exclaimed James, standing up and giving Albus an uncharacteristically massive bear hug.

"Uh…hi James…" Albus muttered, not sure how to react. James released him and led Albus over to a sofa next to a beautiful lady with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "This! Is my girl…Delilah!"

"Hi Delilah!" Albus smiled kindly, holding out a hand for her to shake. She took it daintily and smiled angelically.

"Hello, Albus, James had told me so much about you!" Delilah smiled with a soft, sickening voice. Albus hated her already. It was probably the Slytherin in him.

"Really? I hope it was good stuff!" Albus forced a smile, releasing her hand quickly.

"Very good…" Delilah smiled, turning to James as he begged for attention. Albus looked over to his dad with wide eyes. Harry coughed back a laugh, starting up a conversation with Hermione about Albus's latest exploits in the workplace. Albus considered apparating right out of there.

A/N:Hopefully this is consistent. I'm not rushing into the main plot yet. I just want to ease in really so it's not over too quickly!

Tell me what you think.

~Heloise


	3. Two:The Scent

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close (Prologue)

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:

Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:

Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,

And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Chapter Two

The Scent

_Albus was sitting by the fire on a large sofa in the common room. It was the night of the Hallowe'en ball in his seventh year and he was lounging around in his uniform as his fellow students began to couple up and make their ways down to the great hall for fun and music. Albus was studying. Potions at the moment, studying the pages of a book Professor Valentine had given him to help him with his studying and exams. He turned a page and started studying the recipe as someone cleared their throat for his attention. He looked up and his eyes fell on Scorpius. Albus paused for a moment, eyes running over the crisp new dress robe and the neat arrangement of his hair. _

"_So, what do you think, Al?" Scorpius smirked, hands on his hips. _

"_Yeah…you look…dashing," Albus shrugged, looking back down at his potions book. _

"_Oh! Come on, Al! Lighten up! Just because you couldn't find a date!" Scorpius laughed, ruffling his friend's hair. _

"_Correction Malfoy; I didn't look for a date…" Albus sighed, moving away from his touch. _

"_Alright…I'm sorry!" Scorpius exclaimed defensively, rolling his eyes. "Pru!" _

_Albus looked over as Scorpius' girlfriend made her way over. She wore a pretty dark green dress and despite Albus' hate for her he smiled. She looked worthy of Scorpius. _

"_You look really pretty, Pru…" Albus nodded to her, making her jump in surprise. _

"_Uh…thank you, Potter?" she smiled, brows furrowed in confusion. _

"_You two should probably go, you don't want to miss anything tonight…" Albus smiled grimly to them, knuckles whitening as he gripped onto his book. _

"_Yo! Malfoy! Let's get!" shouted Macaire from the doorway, holding onto a petite blonde._

"_See…Mac agrees…" shrugged Albus, nodding to their friend and captain of the quidditch team. _

"_Okay…are you sure you'll be okay?" Scorpius asked, not really waiting for an answer and fussing over Prudence instead._

"_Yeah…" Albus muttered and shuddered slightly as he caught a whiff of the intoxicating smell that drifted from the tall blonde Keeper as he turned away. Albus sucked on his teeth, jaw clenching as he looked down to his book._

Albus sighed, looking up from the reference book as he smelt that overly sweet cologne of his work partner. He'd got used to it now. It didn't make him weak at the knees or anything.

"Got a good case yet, Scorp?" Albus asked brightly, spinning around in his chair and coming into sight of Scorpius' behind. "Whoa! Scorp! Less of the arse, please!" Albus quickly scrambled out of the way so he was standing up, looking highly affronted.

"Please!" Scorpius snorted indignantly. "You know you love it!" He passed Albus a file and watched as the dark-haired younger man opened it with a delicacy he'd never failed to loose from first year. Scorpius sat down in his own desk, turning in his chair to watch the lean, tall form of his colleague. Scorpius adjusted his dark rimmed glasses, tilting his head to the side as he watched as Albus leant his torso back a little, pushing his hips forwards so he could stand balanced and comfortable.

"Well…I'm happy to take this case! Who gave it to you?" Albus asked, still engrossed in the file. "Oh! Ha! I see…Dad did…" Albus laughed, rolling his eyes. He looked over to Scorpius and jumped a little. "Merlin! Do you have to stare like that, Scorp?" Albus squeaked, shaking the surprise off and sitting in his chair.

"Your tie's crooked…" shrugged Scorpius, looking back to his wall.

"What?" Albus asked, confused slightly by the comment.

"Your tie is crooked," Scorpius said slower, articulating almost patronizingly as he rolled his eyes condescendingly at Albus. It was just as well that the Potter didn't notice really, or he'd probably have a girly hissy fit.

Albus made a grab for his robe and slipped it on, shrugging the shoulders on as he grabbed for his wand. He nudged Scorpius' shoulders roughly as the blonde wasn't moving and received a glare back.

"Scorp! We have to get going!" Albus insisted, eyes wide. He was completely ready to get out of the office and get going.

"Uh…you go on ahead…I'll be right there…" Scorpius muttered, eyes on the picture of Pru on his desk.

"Okay…if you insist…" Albus shrugged, leaving in an agitated hurry. Scorpius waited till he heard the pop of Albus apparating and slammed the picture frame down so he didn't have to look at Pru's smug face a moment longer. It irked him a little. He sighed, hanging his head and squeezing his eyes shut for a few moments. They were aching. Badly. When he opened his eyes he noticed the tattered and faded corner of paper stuff down the side of his desk. He straightened up, squeezing the corner between his thumb and index finger and tugging it out. He lay it out in front of him, his eyebrows raising a little. "Merlin's beard..," he laughed, looking down at the picture of Albus and Scorpius receiving their N.E.W.T.S letters with the grades necessary to become Aurors. Albus had hair almost covering his eyes and hadn't grown to his full height yet. Scorpius on the other hand was heads and shoulders above his classmates. He looked a little crazy to be honest in this photo. As it moved the picture of Scorpius kissed Albus' cheek in rather exaggerated joy, causing the little brunette to merely blush red and look away. A moment later they were hugging or waving their results at the camera. Well, Scorpius was doing that. Albus was just looking down at them and smiling softly and happily before looking up at Scorpius.

Scorpius laughed, pinning it up on his wall and getting up slowly, reaching for his robe, smiling to himself softly as he watched the scene go on. He snatched up his wand and made to leave, not wanting to get shouted at by Albus any time soon.

Albus was hiding behind a large crate round the back of a shop in Knockturn Alley, waiting for his partner. Scorpius was going to get a right earful if he didn't turn up soon. Albus couldn't do this case alone. He needed Scorpius. He bit on his lower lip, ducking lower as he saw a white haired man come stumbling drunk down the alley. Albus was about to panic when he heard the pop of apparition behind him but it was accompanied by that scent again and it let his mind settle to rest.

"Seen anything yet?" Scorpius whispered hotly into Albus' ear, causing him to shit uncomfortably.

"No…nothing significant yet…" Albus muttered, shivering at the feel of Scorpius' breath on his neck.

"You cold, Potter?" Scorpius smirked, watching the way Albus squirmed. His smirk disappeared as Albus stiffened at being called Potter.

"No." Albus' voice was sharp, cold. "Now stop messing around. We have a job to do…"

"I suggest transfiguration and we enter the shop…"

"That's risky…there's no way of telling the façade will stay up for that long…"

"Have you got any better ideas or are you just going to moan at me?" Draco scowled, a hint of venom in his tone.

"Just cast the fucking spell, Malfoy…" Albus scowled, leaning against the brick wall and staring up at the sky, watching the grey clouds slowly dance along the air above.

Albus entered the pub, nodding to the barman and making his way to the portrait he usually sat by. But today the space wasn't empty. He paused, unsure if he should approach. He took a deep breath and risked it, approaching the blonde. He looked up at the portrait of Derek the sailor and waved brightly, getting a wink and a nod to the blonde sitting in his usual corner.

"Hey…is this seat taken?" Albus asked, unable to ignore the shake in his voice.

"Uh…" the blonde looked up, a little hesitant but it turned into a slight smirk. "Sure…why not…" he smiled, gesturing for Albus to sit down.

"Thanks…Derek's an old friend of mine, you see…" Albus joked about the sailor in the painting, smiling as the barman's daughter lay down a bottle of firewhisky for him and a glass.

"Ah…a whiskey drinker are you?" the stranger smiled, holding out a hand for Albus to shake. "I'm Roland Hooch…" his lip curled up at the side as he saw the shock on Albus's face as they shook hands. "I take it you're a Hogwarts student then?"

"Yeah…I'm Albus Potter…" Albus laughed.

"Ah! The famous Slytherin Seeker my dad liked to go on about when you were in school!" Roland smiled, laughing at the blush on Albus' cheeks. "It's okay to be proud once in a while!"

"I suppose…maybe…" Albus shrugged but smiled to his new companion. "How is your dad?"

"Still strong and healthy as the Hogwart's flying instructor and all that!" smiled Roland. "He'll be so chuffed to know I bumped into you!"

"I don't see why…I'm not a quidditch player or anything…" shrugged Albus, pouring himself out some firewhiskey.

"Oh…that's a shame..." the blonde shrugged. "What do you do now anyway?"

"I'm an Auror…along with Scorpius Malfoy…he's my partner on cases…" Albus smiled, sipping his whiskey.

"Ah…yes…I think I was told about him…prone to throwing up after being hit by bludgers?" Roland smirked.

"Yes…that's him…" Albus laughed brightly, eyes sparkling as he thought about those memories.

"And an auror…wow! That's pretty impressive!" laughed Roland, sipping his beer.

"Yeah…I guess so…but it runs through the veins…with my dad and everything…"

"Ah yes…the famous Harry Potter!" Roland laughed, shaking his head. "I doubt it's got anything to do with your dad!"

"Really? Well…what do you do?" Albus asked, genuinely interested.

"I work at St. Mungo's…" Roland shrugged and laughed as he saw the impressed look sparkling into Albus' eyes. "Not like that! I'm sort of…an intern…of sorts…I'm not yet fully qualified…"

"No! I think that's wonderful! I bet it's really exciting!" Albus's eyes had widened in childish amazement.

"You're a funny guy, Albus Potter…" Roland laughed, watching the handsome auror as he drank more whiskey.

"Huh? How come?" Albus asked, a look of shock on his face that was just so endearing to Roland.

"You're just…not how I imagined you to be?"

"Imagined?" Albus looked confused.

"You know…from my dad's memory!" laughed Roland, wondering what the younger male thought.

"Oh!" Albus blushed, downing his whiskey and pouring out more. "Of course!"

Albus lost count of the hours they sat there talking and the amount of whiskey he drank as those hours passed, he felt comfortable with Roland, and it helped not to be alone tonight. At least he wouldn't have to lie to Scorpius about having real company when he got back to the flat. Not that Scorpius cared. He only asked because he thought he had to. Albus hadn't laughed like this in a long time and it made him feel good, made him feel a little warmer inside. Roland had his own scent, a little spicy but at the same time he smelt of hospitals. He smelt safe and real. But maybe that was the whiskey talking! Albus leant closer to him as they talked about everything and anything, well that Albus was permitted to talk about with his work. Roland laughed back and sometimes softly touched Albus' hand or arm, light touches as he talked, as he suggested things to the brunette. Albus liked it, despite the fact it was unfamiliar and a little confusing. He was smiling and it wasn't fake.

Scorpius looked to the clock on the wall. Albus wasn't usually this late back. In fact, Scorpius had thought Albus would come straight home tonight, or didn't he remember that today was Scorpius' birthday. He hadn't earlier but Scorpius had thought it was an act so that Albus would be able to surprise him later. He'd even told Pru that he'd had something planned with Albus for a while and blown her off.

And for what? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Scorpius sighed, taking off his glasses to clean his eyes before slowly reapplying them and standing up. He wasn't hungry anymore. He just wanted to go to bed and forget this had happened, forget he was a year older than yesterday, and forget that his parents hadn't sent him an owl yet. Forget. That would be nice. Scorpius thought about the picture of himself and his friend he'd found earlier in the desk and sighed. He was clinging onto the friendship he'd had with Albus in their school days. What a fool he was. Albus had changed. He wasn't the same as before. He had become so independent of Scorpius that he didn't even remember his best friend's birthday. Scorpius' head snapped to the door as he heard voices outside the door and a fumbling of keys in the lock. He stood very still, arms folded across his chest and waited for an explanation. Possibly some groveling. The door creaked open and Scorpius froze from shock.

A/N: Ha. A cliffhanger? Maybe? Please tell me what you think honestly! I love a critical review. But try to be kind too! Ha! Bit yeah…it's slow moving but the pace should pick up in the next two chapters!

~Heloise

xxx


	4. Three: Surprise

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:

Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:

Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,

And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Chapter Three

Surprise

Albus Severus Potter had never been good at remembering dates. Birthdays least of all. He also made very little fuss of them. With one exception. And that was Macaire's fault.

"_Al!" Macaire had hissed to him from across the dormitory, as Albus was about to get into bed. He turned, glaring at Macaire with very tired eyes. Macaire put a finger up to his think lips and gestured Albus over. Albus looked briefly to the drawn curtains of Scorpius' bed before coming over. "Sit down…" Macaire whispered, pulling Albus down onto his bed._

"_What is it, Mac?" hissed Albus, tired and attempting to glare but failing as he yawned instead. _

"_It's Scorpius' birthday tomorrow…" Macaire muttered, drawing his curtains to give them more privacy. _

"_It is?" Albus looked a little confused. _

"_Yeah…his eighteenth…which means he's our firewhiskey ticket…" Macaire grinned._

"_Ah! Yeah!" that seemed to catch Albus' attention. "So…what's the plan?" _

"_Well…I was thinking of having a surprise party for him…then later in the evening we'll ask him to sneak magic order some firewhiskey up into the dorm…" _

"_And he'll only do this is we make a massive fuss of him and throw him a party?"_

"_It's our safest bet…" Macaire whispered, completely sincere. _

"_Okay…I'm in…" _

It had worked and it had been the beginning of a rather unhealthy addiction to the alcohol for the youngest Potter. In fact, Albus had considered setting up a business based around the stuff when he left school but his father had advised him against it. Albus wasn't thinking about the humour in his love of firewhiskey as he stood in front of Scorpius at their open door. On the one hand he had the very attractive Roland sucking his neck and kissing it, causing the need to giggle and he had the ice-cold Malfoy glare of his roommate facing him. He pulled his new friend into the flat with him and closed the door. He didn't want to disturb the neighbours.

"Hello Albus…" Scorpius drawled, arms folded across his chest.

"Hey, you must be Scorpius, I'm Roland Hooch, nice to meet you!" Albus' guest smiled, leaning around Al to hold out a hand to Scorpius in a polite greeting.

"Good for you…" Scorpius sneered, avoiding the hand and sucking on his front teeth in annoyance. "Albus, can we talk?"

"Dude! What's there to talk about? You bring girls home all the time! Hey! You've even fucked my cousin on our couch!" Albus laughed, leaning back into Roland as he stumbled drunkenly.

"You honestly think that's why I'm annoyed?" Scorpius laughed darkly, his silver eyes going an uncomfortable shade of grey.

"Well…yeah!" snorted Albus, giggling as Roland kissed up to his jaw.

"Fuck off Rolo!" Scorpius snarled, causing Roland to straighten up.

"Uh oh…" Albus whispered.

"Albus. Living room. Now." Scorpius turned on his heel and stormed off.

"Oh dear…" muttered Albus, biting his thumbnail like a child. He turned to face his companion. "You'd better go…mff!" Albus gasped, pressing up into Roland as the taller male smashed his lips down onto the brunette. Albus tiptoed up, wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck, kissing back into the bruising passion of the kiss. When they pulled away Albus was panting and his lips were red and swelling a little from the length and force of the kiss.

"ALBUS!" came the angry growl of a Malfoy from the living room.

"Oh…Roland…you'd better go…" Albus moaned between kisses. "Please…he'll get really mad and bring out his wand…"

"Okay…" whispered Roland, but leant in for another kiss, this time getting in some tongue action, his warm, experienced tongue causing Albus to whimper. He pulled away slowly and kissed the Potter on the nose. "Okay…I'm gone…I'll owl you…"

"Okay…I'll be waiting…" Albus muttered softly, leaning in and kissing his friend goodbye softly as he opened the door for him.

Scorpius watched as Albus came into the room looking annoyed, confused and drunk all rolled into one. He looked furious. Absolutely furious and Albus felt his knees quivering at the sight.

"Okay…so what did I do?" Albus asked, indignantly holding his chin up high despite his quivering legs.

"What day is it today, Albus?" Scorpius asked coolly.

"Uh…Tuesday?" Albus shrugged, leaning against a sofa so he didn't fall over.

"No you twat!" growled Scorpius, standing up abruptly and causing Albus' heart to leap in his chest. "Not fucking Tuesday! Not the only time you ever bring someone home! The one day of the year for you to do that to me!"

"Oh shit…" muttered Albus, running a hand through his hair and biting on his lower lip as he began sobering up at the thought of what he'd done to his best friend. "Today? That's today?"

"It happens to be the same day every fucking year, Albus!" he growled, balling his fists up into balls.

"I'm so sorry, Scorp! It just totally slipped my mind!" Albus whimpered, hating seeing his best friend in this state.

"No! Sorry doesn't cut it, Albus! I tolerate you coming home drunk and throwing up everywhere nearly every day of the week and the one day! THE ONE DAY THAT I WANTED YOU TO COME HOME AND ACTUALLY SOBRE UP FOR-" he paused lightly, panting from anger. "You bring home a complete stranger. You're drunk and you don't even know it's my birthday…"

"Scorp! I'm so sorry! You're usually out with Prudence on your birthday!"

"Well, I'm sorry!" Scorpius growled, glaring at his roommate. "I thought you had something planned. You usually at least manage to say happy birthday to me! I thought maybe you were just building up for something. Not that you'd forgotten!"

"Whoa! Scorp! You can't blame me for your assumptions! It's not liked we had this planned or anything!" Albus exclaimed, pathetically trying to justify the fact he'd forgotten his best friend's birthday. Albus knew how much birthdays meant to Scorpius. They meant the world. The Malfoy's did presents, not celebrations. Scorpius was okay with that to a certain extent, but Macaire and Albus had always taken the care to make a little bit of fuss about his birthday; at least enough for it to mean something to Scorpius.

"I'm going to bed…" Scorpius sighed, unclenching his fists and walking off towards his room. "Oh…and thanks for the present…"

"Huh?" Albus didn't understand. He hadn't got him a present.

"What a way to find out your best friend digs cock, eh?" Scorpius chuckled bitterly and stalked off down the hall.

Albus felt something stir in his stomach. His vision went black and he wretched. All over the carpet.

Albus ignored the owl when it first came, trying not to think about that night. When he opened the letter, a slightly rusted snitch fell out with a piece of paper.

_Dear Al,_

_So, I'm hoping it wasn't too awkward between you and your roommate the other night. I also hope that you're all right, he seemed pretty angry. _

_I really enjoyed getting to know you that evening and I'd love to meet up with you again. But thing is, I'm out of the country to do a month in a French hospital so we'll have to put our acquaintance on hold for that duration. I'll owl you when I get back, see if your still up for meeting up or not._

_Enclosed is a snitch my dad told me to pass on. (Don't worry, I only told him I'd bumped into you at the pub) He told me it was the snitch of your last game at Hogwarts. And apparently you performed a rather spectacular Wronski Feint to claim it. I'd like to see you do that sometime._

_Anyway! I hope you're well and if I don't hear from you before I go to France, I hope to hear from you after!_

_Love,_

_Roland Hooch_

Albus felt a small smile twitch at the corners of his lips as he read the letter over and over. He looked to the snitch and ran it over in his hands, admiring it. It was funny really. He felt more emotional attachment for this object than he did to any memory he could summon from his Hogwart's days.

Albus sat up and fed the owl a treat, scribbling back a quick explanation, and a hint of wanting to see Roland again. He tied it to the Owl's leg and let the bird go. Albus looked to the door, as there was a knock, getting up and unbunching his pyjama trousers slightly as he did so. He opened the door to the pale, pointed face of his roommate.

"Your post." He growled roughly, pushing the letters through the gap in the door.

"Th-thanks…" muttered Albus, pausing slightly. "Scorp! Wait!" he opened the door fully, stepping into the corridor that Scorpius was walking down.

"What?" the blonde paused, turning his head a little so he could see Albus with his rather dodgy peripheral vision.

"I want to make it up to you…" Albus said, wrinkling his nose as he thought. "Let's…I dunno…let's pretend your birthday is on Friday? Yeah? And…we'll do something!"

"Don't you usually go straight to the pub on a Friday?" Scorpius muttered, thinking of how drunk Albus was every Friday night without fail.

"Oh well…yeah…but we can do anything! We don't have to go to the pub!" muttered Albus, playing nervously with the edge of a letter in his hand.

"No," Scorpius smirked slightly. "We'll go to the pub…and you better get me the best fucking birthday present in the whole world…"

Albus' face lit up and he was grinning widely to his roommate. "And if I do?"

"Then I'll forgive you…" Scorpius shrugged calmly, before carrying on down the hall.

Ecstatic and frankly relieved, Albus made his way back into his room, hope that he wouldn't have to live with a moody sod for another week if this birthday evening went well. He felt a little lighter, a bit less nervous about everything. He wondered for a moment if he should invite Macaire along as well. He pondered this for a fair while before shaking his head as he struck his decision. No. That wouldn't be a good idea. Macaire was training and training hard for the new quidditch season. Albus, thinking he'd made a wise decision to leave Macaire out of the loop, lay back on his bed and grinned stupidly. He had a chance to make Scorpius stop hating him, and stop calling him by his surname.

Friday was a busy day and Albus couldn't wait to go to the pub and have a nice chilled beer. He'd decided not to drink firewhiskey at the beginning of the evening, as Scorpius might get the wrong idea about his drinking habits and to be frank that would just be embarrassing. The day involved intersecting a crate of illegally imported cursed chocolate frogs from Egypt and catching a rather slippery wizard with a knack for imperio-ing children at the ice cream parlour. Yet, for once, Albus was feeling positive about the evening. He got to spend it with his best friend, in his favourite place in the whole world. The pub. He completely failed to notice that his gut feeling was telling him that this was the worst idea he'd had since he decided that Scorpius and he would dress up as Elvis and Billy Idol for Christmas. Ginny hadn't appreciated the bad impressions all night long.

"So…you got me that amazing present, yet?" asked Scorpius calmly as he stretched, spinning casually in his chair.

"Yes! You're going to love it!" grinned Albus, looking round to his best friend and laughing a little.

"You're awfully excited…" muttered Scorpius, sitting up properly and tilting his head as he watched the brunette.

"I dunno…I just don't remember the last time we went for a drink together!" Albus grinned.

"Oh…" Scorpius face broke into a worrying sinister smirk. "You're definitely going to remember this night…"

"Huh? Did you say something, Scorp?"

"Me? Oh no…nothing at all…"

A/N: It seems that for once in my life I have the patience to actually make it so far without entering the whole turning point of the story in. I hope this is a different sort of cliffhanger and I hope you all want to read more. If not then…well, I've obviously failed somewhere. Please tell me what you think. I'd love to know. And I know that my grammar isn't perfect etc. Because I don't have a Beta, so comments are appreciated if you think I need to work on an area in particular, but try to let go of the tiny mistakes that are one-offs? If not then I suppose I'll live!

~Heloise


	5. Four: So, you're gay

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:

Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:

Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,

And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Chapter Four

So, you're gay

Albus stretched, yawning a little as he reached for his robes and wand. He checked his reflection in the little oval mirror Scorpius had hung up on their first day in this office. He frowned at his lightly freckled face, licking his lips slightly, brushing his hair down with four fingers in hopes that it would flatten slightly. Albus sighed, standing up straight and adjusting his robes, sitting on his desk and looking at his nails as he waited for Scorpius to return from his work. Albus sat there and contemplated how envious he was of Scorpius' gorgeous hair. It was lovely really, with a short side-swept fringe and short at the sides, the hair sort of quiffed up a little when it was messy. It reminded him of someone Teddy had obsessed over from a muggle TV series, Mitch Hewer. However, as far as Albus could recollect Mitch didn't hold a torch to Scorpius. He caught himself thinking that and rubbed his eyes to distract himself.

"You all right?" Scorpius asked, swinging into the room rather animatedly.

"Ah!" Albus exclaimed, slipping off the desk and thudding to the floor.

"I'm guessing not!" laughed Scorpius, grabbing Albus by one of his elbows and heaving him up. "You shouldn't daydream like that, you might have a heart attack…" Scorpius laughed, a little too brightly. Albus was too thick to pick up on the fact his best friend was in such a good mood.

Albus steadied himself on his desk, watching Scorpius fixing his hair and cleaning his glasses. Albus much preferred him without the glasses and wished that maybe once he'd consider lenses. But no such luck. Scorpius caught Albus watching him from the mirror and let go a slight smirk, continuing to preen himself for the amusement of his gay friend.

Scorpius of course got bored after a little bit and turned to his desk, tidying it up. Albus, he noticed, hadn't bothered to do that at all. Albus was fidgeting, looking up at the ceiling to distract himself from the waiting. Scorpius laughed inwardly at how Albus acted. He knew three Albus's. One was the quiet, introvert Albus, the second was the impatient, excitable and childish Albus and the last was the drunken Albus. The last wasn't really one he should laugh at but he couldn't help it, it was all just ridiculous. Back in their Hogwarts days Albus had been a perfect mixture of Albus one and Albus two, quiet but excitable and bright and cheery. Scorpius had noticed it change around the middle of fourth year. By Seventh year Albus was almost a different person.

"You nearly ready, Scorp?" grinned Albus, his eyes glittering.

"Yeah…almost…" he pushed the photograph of Prudence back, making sure it was neatly position in the place he always put it. He stood up, grabbing his robe, wand already in his pocket. "Okay…so…lead the way…" Scorpius smirked.

Albus grinned, getting up and walking to the door. Scorpius turned off the light and they made their way down the hall. One of their fellow Aurors raised an eyebrow at the peculiar sight of seeing the friends leaving together and Scorpius glared at him, causing him to hurriedly look elsewhere. Scorpius looked ahead to Albus who was pausing to make sure Scorpius was still behind him.

"So, what's this pub like then?" Scorpius smiled, watching Albus' cheeks flush slightly.

"Oh…it's cosy…" Albus shrugged and then paused. "I guess…you'll see when we get there."

"Fair enough…" Scorpius nodded, twitching his eyebrows as he lost interest in watching Albus. "It's not a gay pub, is it?" Scorpius asked, a little too loudly.

"Scorpius! Shut it!" Albus growled venomously, causing Scorpius to jump in surprise.

"Sorry?" the blonde made a face as though Albus had been totally out of line before shrugging the scenario off. Albus couldn't seem to be able to and continued to be fidgety until they left the building.

Albus rubbed at his temples as they left through the main exit of the ministry. Landing, by floo in Diagon Alley somewhere. "We've a way to go, Scorp…keep up…" Albus hugged his robes tighter against his body to keep himself warm and proceeded against the cold wind. Scorpius merely raised an eyebrow.

"Al? Can't we apparate there?" Scorpius exclaimed, fearing the wind would ruin his hair.

"No…it's better this way!"

"Better? Since when is fighting with the wind better?"

"You'll enjoy your beer better…" Albus grumbled, rolling his eyes and turning to face his spectacled friend. Albus's hair was blowing erratically around his face. He had a dead set look in his eyes that demanded that Scorpius not mess with him.

"I…" Scorpius wanted to argue, but it was so not worth it. "I'm sure I will…let's go…" Scorpius began walking, stepping past the steadfast brunette.

Albus turned, falling into step beside his blonde friend, urged to shove him off the pavement into an old woman carrying about ten owl cages. He didn't though; he just enjoyed thinking it.

"So, how long a walk?" Scorpius asked, appearing as bored as ever.

"Oh…uh…about ten minutes, maybe longer? I've never timed it…" shrugged Albus, yawning slightly.

"I'm looking forwards to meeting your friends today…" Scorpius smirked, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Huh? Oh! They might not be in today…don't get your hopes up!" Albus laughed nervously.

"Well, I'll be disappointed if the don't show…" Scorpius shrugged, looking up ahead for signs of a pub so he didn't have to walk any further.

"Well…you met Roland…he's out of town for a while…" Albus exclaimed, seeming hopeful that Scorpius might be content with just that.

"I've already met him, Al, and to be honest, I don't much care to meet him again!" Scorpius sneered, wrinkling up his nose, only to have his glasses slip down them.

"That's not very nice!" Albus exclaimed, scowling and roughly pushing up Scorpius' glasses for him. "Get contacts…"

"Nah, these things are the only thing stopping girls throwing themselves at me twenty-four-seven!" Scorpius laughed, smiling at his own beauty. Albus decided to roll his eyes, but he couldn't help but secretly agree. There was little to no chitchat on the way to the pub, mostly due to the howling wind, but also the fact that Albus thought he might hurl from nerves.

Albus greeted the barman warmly, looking over to his usual spot to make sure it was free before going up to the bar. The bar was about half full with witches and wizards alike, mostly solitary drinkers. Scorpius made a slight face of disgust; it was a little dreary in here.

"Al! And who's your friend?" the barmaid asked, grinning cheerily.

"This is Scorpius…"Albus smiled, trying not to notice the way the wench was eyeing up his friend.

"Hello, and what will you both be having then?" she battered her eyelashes, hoisting cleavage in Scorpius' direction.

"Well, I think we'll both have a strong beer and a glass of firewhiskey each please…" Scorpius smirked, taking a very obvious look at her breasts. Albus was not at all impressed.

"I'll bring it right over," she giggled, walking off. Albus grabbed Scorpius' arm roughly and dragged him over to her regular table.

"Ouch! What's wrong with you?" Scorpius winced as he was shoved into a seat.

"Look…you fuck my cousin, and your girlfriend…can we leave the alcohol out of it?" Al exclaimed in a hushed voice, still standing up.

"Sit down, Al…" Scorpius laughed, relaxing back in his chair and watching as Al's face flushed red and his slipped into his seat. "So…are any of your friends here?"

"I AM!" exclaimed the topless mermaid from in the photo. "But Derek isn't here right now! I'm Serena!" she giggled, battering her eyelashes.

"Oh…so you're a mermaid? Al failed to mention that!" Scorpius bit down hard on his lip to avoid sniggering.

"Yes…you can laugh, Scorp…I have no real friends…" Albus muttered, almost inaudibly. Scorpius looked to him, face falling at how pitiful his best friend was.

"You have Roland!" Scorpius exclaimed, trying to make Albus feel a bit better.

"Yes! Yes I do!" Albus seemed to cheer up instantly.

"Although you have only just met him…" Scorpius said darkly, a little uncomfortable with how replaceable an only friend might be to Albus.

_Scorpius snarled at the Gryffindors, telling them to back off. Macaire sensed something was wrong and took Albus roughly by the arm, telling the confused Potter that he needed to help him with work. Macaire knew he shouldn't have left Scorpius with the defenceless Gryffindors, but he knew it was better than leaving Albus to watch the scene that was going to unfurl._

"_Stay away from Albus…" Scorpius growled, taller than his fellow third years by about two feet._

"_Why should we?" one exclaimed bravely. He had a rather large nose and fat lips. Scorpius considered him too ugly for Albus for starters._

"_Because he's not your friend!" Scorpius yelled, face brightening red as he got angry. _

"_No, you're right he's not…not yet anyway!" a timid mousey girl muttered from behind the boys. _

"_And he's not going to be!" exclaimed Scorpius, stepping towards the ugly boy._

"_And who's going to stop us?" asked a cocky, slightly taller than the rest of them, brunette with a muddy complexion. He stepped in between Ugly and Scorpius a rough look on his face. A challenge._

"_Over my dead body!" Scorpius exclaimed, lunging at the boy and pinning him to the ground, clenched fists flying into the boys jaw._

The flirtatious barmaid placed the drinks in front of them, but at the lack of a response by Scorpius, who was off in his own world, she quickly departed. Albus looked down into his beer and bit on his lower lip. He took a sip of the bitter liquid and help back a wince at the dry taste. He thought that Scorpius would remember how much he hated beer, he guessed not. He looked up at his spectacled friend and watched him. Albus couldn't read Scorpius very well. It was something that bothered him deeply. He knew Scorpius' basic emotions; happy, angry, horny. However, when it came to the real stuff; depressed or sad, agitated, frustrated, embarrassed…then Albus found it hard to read him. Like right now…what was Scorpius thinking? Was it good? Or, was it really bad? Albus couldn't tell.

"Scorp? Are you okay?" Albus asked softly, reaching out to touch his friend's forearm but clenching his fist halfway and quickly pulling it back and touching the cold, wet outside of his condensed beer glass.

"Yeah…sorry…just thinking about something…." Scorpius said, looking down and then back up to Albus. "What were you saying?"

"Do you not like it here?" Albus muttered, feeling the top of his ears redden at how silly he sounded.

"No! I'm sorry! I'm just…tired is all, Al…" Scorp put on a smile, enough to fool his ignorant friend at least.

"Okay…well, at least you're not unhappy here!" Albus brightened, picking up his drink and taking a gulp of it, wincing very slightly at the dry taste. "Oh! Scorp! Your present! Do you want it now?"

"No…not now, Al…later…" Scorpius smiled, already having hatched a plan.

"Okay! Well, tell me when you're ready!" Albus smiled, jumping when a black cat jumped on the table, hissing at Albus. "ANGUS!" he yelled and the cat went to jump, causing Albus to knock over his beer all over his front and lap.

"Ah, so you're Angus!" Scorpius grinned, stroking the cat and receiving a loud purr and a kiss from the little wet pink nose. "Nice to meet you."

Scorpius led the tipsy Albus to his room, having not even considered approaching his own. He had his arm resting lightly on Albus' waist as the brunette leant into him for support, eyes half-lidded sleepily. "You should get out of this sticky top…" Scorpius muttered, referring to the beer stain from the incident earlier that night. Al just mumbled something as he fell back onto his bed, staring up sleepily at the ceiling. He didn't seem to notice that his top was being pushed up, and his torso being felt over, not until his best friend's slender fingers brushed over his nipples and he let out an impromptu gasp. Albus' eyes frantically searched for Scorpius's as the fingers rubbed lightly at the delicate hard skin.

"Scorp…stop it…" he moaned lightly.

"So…are you gay?" Scorpius asked, voice deep and husky, breathing hotly into Albus's ear. His lips fell onto Albus' jawbone before trailing them up to Albus' quivering lips. "Well…are you?"

"Ah…" Albus was only able to 'say', his whole body paralyzed by the warm, soft feeling of Scorpius pressing their lips together and a sneaky hand began to rub lightly at his hip.

"Happy Birthday to me…" Scorpius drawled, tongue already half way down Al's throat.

(A/N: Sorry to take so long to post up the next instalment. I went away to Canada for two weeks and had no spare time! I love Canada. So much. There is a lot of gay pride over there and some gorgeous gay guys. But putting that aside, please tell me what you think of this chapter. And also, whether you want the next one to skip past all of the smut and just go to the storyline, which will be when Albus wakes up in the morning with a hangover and a rather peculiar feeling! I'm also separating time spaces with *** so that it flows a little better. Tell me if this helps or is just annoying! So, please tell me what you think and I hope you continue to read this fic!

~Heloise)


	6. Five: Much more than gay

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:

Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:

Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,

And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Chapter Five

Much more than gay

Albus shuddered as he felt Scorpius start to undo his belt, afraid that his best friend would find out what he was hiding underneath. His emerald eyes were wide and sort of glassy, his pupils small and fearful. Albus couldn't fully understand what was going on. He couldn't understand why Scorpius had his tongue down his throat or why his trousers were being dismantled. One thing he was sure of though, and that was that he was very excited. He finally found the strength to move his arms and used this to push his friend away a little.

"Scorp…" he muffled, trying to end the intrusion into his mouth.

"Mm…" the blonde answered, kissing down Albus's neck, causing the Potter to moan lightly.

"Scorp…stop it…you're drunk…" Albus slurred, but licked his lips, tasting whatever Scorpius had left there.

"Shut up and let me fuck you…" Scorpius purred, making Albus moan slightly. There was something about the offer that made Albus shut up, made him forget that he didn't want this the way if was happening. Scorpius' breath was hot against his skin, lips burning and tongue driving Albus into blind pleasure. And this was just his neck. Albus moaned loudly at the thought of what else Scorpius could do to him.

"Shh…patience…" Scorpius drawled, reminding Albus who was in charge. Al felt hands travelling down him, but he didn't necessarily remember how long Scorpius took to start sucking just below his navel, sending hot shivers up through his torso and down towards the hot, hard flesh below. Albus knew it hadn't been quick, but it felt too quick, like it was down on fast-forward. Albus could hear his heart thumping in his ears, feel his breathing getting shallow and quick. He licked his dry lips, missing the feel of Scorpius acting as his very pleasurable lip balm. Scorpius seemed to be working otherwise though, and Albus gasped as he felt the cold air hit him as Scorpius further de-clothed him.

"Scorp…" Albus moaned, letting his head loll back, mouth open ready to moan. Albus was already panting slightly, tiny beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead, trickling down and matting into his hair. Albus covered his arm over his eyes, crook of his elbow resting on his nose. He felt embarrassed. Slowly, he stroked his hand towards Scorpius' hair, feeling over his cheek, temple…he paused. Scorpius wasn't wearing glasses. He quickly unveiled his eyes and tilted his head up to look but the direction of Scorpius' face was stopping Albus from seeing something he was desperate to see. He soon forgot about that, fingers curling into the blonde's hair, head going back with a loud moan as Scorpius began to place his warm lips onto hot skin.

**oOo**

Albus grumbled as he stirred, scrunching up his face and bringing a rather stiff hand up to his forehead. Albus snuggled into the warm flesh he seemed to be pressed against and smiled. That was nice. Wait, what? Albus didn't dare open his eyes too quickly, instead he slowly opened one, squinting against the bright sunlight. Blinds hadn't been shut last night, unusual for Albus. He swallowed hard and licked his dry lips before closing the first eye and slowly opening the other. He could see better in the light with that eye, as there was a smooth chest blocking most of the light from hitting it. Albus twitched the fingers that rested on said chest and bit on his lower lip, looking up to see the clues as to whom this was. Was it Roland? Had Roland come back last night? No, it wasn't. He remembered now. He'd gone out to drink with Scorpius. Oh no! Had he ditched Scorpius and hooked up with a stranger? Albus felt himself blush and swallowed again, finding it a little hard. He moved his head slightly and looked towards a tangled mess of blonde hair, a jaw line so chiselled it looked like a marble statue, no stubble, and then he saw soft, plump lips the colour of pink sunrise. The stranger was a living Adonis. He must be.

"Albus…you awake?" the male turned to look at Albus, wearing glasses it seemed and holding an arm around the smaller male.

"Sc-Scorpius?" Albus exclaimed, eyes wide, staring in shock at the body. "Oh shit! What did I do? Crawl into your bed last night?"

"No…this is your room…"

"Did I throw up in your bed or something?"

"No…" Scorpius smirked, finding this amusing.

"Then what happened?" Albus seemed frantic, voice croaking.

"We had sex, Albus…" Scorpius shrugged, stroking just behind Albus' shoulder blade.

"Shut up, Scorp!" Albus exclaimed brashly, refusing to believe that could be true.

"You never answered my question…but I know now…you told me last night…" Scorpius smirked, cheeks dimpling very slightly.

"What are you talking about, Scorp?" Albus tried to pull away but Scorpius pulled him closer.

"Don't move, you might be sore…" Scorpius' voice softened, a little worried. "Just that…you're so much more than gay, Al…"

"Scorp…stop it…this isn't funny!" Albus pulled away roughly sitting up and shuffling away, well, trying to. "AH! MY ARSE!"

"Told you it would hurt!" Scorpius smiled, stroking Albus's back gently.

"We're naked…" Albus gasped, sudden realisation hitting him. "We're both…totally naked."

"We are," Scorpius nodded, fingers trailing up and down Albus' spine.

"Why are you so calm about this, Scorpius?" Albus exclaimed, eyes welling up a little bit.

"Because I initiated it…" the blonde said softly, leaning down and kissing Albus's shoulder softly. "Stop shaking."

"I'm not shaking!" Albus exclaimed, unable to shuffle away from the unwanted attention.

"Al, I can feel you…" Scorpius whispered softly, kissing Albus's cheek. "Anyway, do you want breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry…" Albus muttered, but was betrayed by the loud rumbling of his empty stomach.

"Come on, I'll make you whatever you want…" Scorpius smiled, beginning to get out of the bed, flinging the covers back to reveal his completely butt naked body. And boy did he have a nice butt.

"You're naked…" Albus whispered, eyes wide, entirely transfixed on him.

"You say it like you've never seen it before…" Scorpius winked before leaning down and pulling on his boxers. "Do you need help getting out of bed?"

"N-no…I'll be fine…" Albus whispered, looking away and shaking his hair in front of his face to hide his red cheeks.

"Okay, well, come to the kitchen when you're ready, I'll put the kettle on…" Scorpius leant over, kissing the top of Al's head before heading out of the door.

**oOo**

Al had found breakfast weird. Weird that Scorpius acted the same to him as he would any other day. Except for the fact he was making him his favourite breakfast. Albus was tired too, but tired in a way that his body must have worked very hard last night and that it was sore from how hard Scorpius had worked. Albus blushed a deep shade of Gryffindor red at that very thought and ducked his head down, even though Scorpius wasn't around. There was a knock at the front door and Albus looked up, blush fading as his thoughts were distracted. He got up slowly and went to answer the door.

"Oh, I'd hoped it had been Scorpius to answer the door," pouted the insufferable human form of Prudence, the demon girl.

"Nice to see you too, Pru…" Albus muttered, stepping aside to let her in and closing the door.

"Is Scorpy around?" she asked, smacking her red lips together to make sure they were plump and even.

"He's in the shower at the moment…" Albus muttered, heading towards the kitchen. "Would you like a drink?"

"No…I…don't disturb us in the bathroom…" Prudence smirked, slipping off her jacket and shoes and beginning to unbutton her shirt as she approached the bathroom. Albus began to feel a little nauseous. He grabbed his keys and slipped on his shoes, wallet in his back pocket. It was time to do the shopping. Albus closed the door as he heard the first loud giggle and shuddered.

**oOo**

_Albus sighed as he headed off to Hogsmeade on his own. Scorpius and Pru were in their abandoned dormitory and Pru was giggling. Albus felt mildly sick at the thought of what they were doing and just carried on walking faster and faster. Snowflakes began to fall down onto Albus's dark hair, looking like dandruff until they got heavier and began to actually look like snow. He gazed up towards the sky and smiled as a large snowflake landed on his nose. It was moments like this, the first snowfall or the first birds of spring, even though these things couldn't be more clichéd, that helped Albus to find his peace in the depth of the busy school year. He latched half onto a group with Macaire to get into Hogsmeade and arranged meeting up with them later before walking off alone to an old, once abandoned building that his father had bought since and done up. He liked to just go there and read a book. Sometimes he'd used the secret passageway that his Uncle George had told him about to get there. It was Albus's safe haven. In fact, he felt so safe there that he didn't even let Scorpius know about it. Sometimes Macaire would come along but not very often. _

_When he got there he saw that the lights were on and paused before getting his key out and making his quiet entrance. He heard laughter from the kitchen, clattering of plates and chinking of glasses. He walked slowly to it and opened the door very slowly. The handsome form of his older brother looked over, the smile fading from his face. _

"_What are you doing here?" James snapped, the room going quiet, the older students looking over to the intruder._

"_Oh, I'm sorry, James…just came to grab some butterbeer…" Albus shrugged._

"_Who for?"_

"_Just for me…I wanted to grab a book for revision…" shrugged Albus, shifting uncomfortably. He jumped in surprise as James passed him a bottle. _

"_Here…now scram!" _

**oOo**

Albus decided to grab a big box of beer to take back to the flat. He didn't want to go out tonight but he may need some liquid comfort. The shop was pretty empty, just a small mini supermarket cum petrol station. He'd also grabbed the weekly shop of fruit and veg and bread. The cupboards were full of cans and flour and the fridge of eggs already, so today it was a reasonably light shop. Albus only came here because of the ridiculously gorgeous blonde male that worked at cash. He had shaggy blonde hair that he was always shaking out of bright blue eyes and he had a grin to die for. The type of grin that was so biased it curled up only on one side, flashing white teeth and making his eyes crinkle up and sparkle. Albus blushed just at the thought of it. He hoisted the pack of beer onto one hip and held his shopping basket in his empty hand, making towards the cashier.

"Good morning!" the blonde grinned happily to Albus. "Haven't seen you in a while!"

"I've been busy…" smiled Albus, trying so hard not to blush.

"You know, I see you in here nearly every week and I don't know your name…" the blonde smiled that gorgeous lopsided smile, scanning the vegetables.

"Oh…don't laugh…it's Albus…" Al blushed, he hated telling muggles his name.

"Albus, eh? I like it. Has a nice ring to it!" he scanned the bread.

"And you?" Albus asked, shaking from nerves.

"Patrick!" he grinned, pointing to his name badge.

"Ah…yes…you wear a badge…"

"It's okay! I put on my roommates yesterday! I was Rachel all day! Nobody noticed!"

"I would have noticed," Albus blurted out before he could stop himself.  
"I'm glad…" Patrick smiled after pausing in shock for a moment.

"I'm so sorry…I'm…not normally this-"

"Flirty?" Patrick interrupted, causing Albus to blush even deeper.

"No…I was going to say forward…" Albus looked down. He noticed that Patrick had stopped scanning for a moment.

"Hey…you want to go get drinks sometime?" Patrick asked, leaning forward, resting on the top of the cashier.

"Really?" Albus looked up in shock, green eyes shining hopefully.

"Definitely!" Patrick grinned, shaking his hair back. "I'll write my number on you receipt?" Albus just nodded and Patrick grinned once more before going back to scanning the items and making idle chitchat with Albus. Albus felt as though his life might just be getting better after all.

(A/N: Hello! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that it was not too vivid. I've decided not to fully fluff out the smut scenes. But things like this will sort of highlight different parts of the interactions each time I write something. I'm trying to write without being crude, because I don't want this to just be some sex fic. But if I can afford to be a little more blatant, do tell me. For some reason *** isn't working, so I'm trying oOo instead. So, hopefully that will help! Please review as I love hearing feedback! I also want to say hello to new readers and that I love reviews. Even critical ones, so don't be shy! Oh and not to worry, there aren't too many more characters now. I'll ease up for a while!

~Heloise

xx)


	7. Six: Late for Work

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:

Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:

Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,

And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Chapter Six

Late for work

Albus Severus Potter had a very annoying habit. He'd turn his speakers up loud and listen to songs over and over until they were practically ringing when the speakers were turned off. Not only would he repeat songs, but he would repeat sections of songs and nearly always the only bits he knew the lyrics to. And if you lived with this terror of a habit you'd most likely be trying to tear your hair out. Not Scorpius though. He usually just got on with reading a book or fucking a girl. Plus, he had never complained. So, Albus was entirely unaware of how annoying this habit of his was.

Monday night, after the weekend of terror that Albus wanted to forget, yet wished he never would. It was about seven o'clock and Albus had just finished downing a beer. He'd sent a rather boring text to Patrick and was listening to the beginning of Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas, a bit of a classic as far as American soft rock was concerned. Albus was tidying up his room, which he'd been putting off for the last week or so. Today was the perfect opportunity to do the cleaning as he was trying desperately to avoid Scorpius. In fact, after the breakfast on Saturday morning he hadn't really encouraged talking to Scorpius. His mind couldn't handle it. He saw his best friend in the whole world but his heart would beat to hard and fast in his chest that he thought it might seizure every time Scorpius smiled at him. He also felt rather hot and shivery even if Scorpius patted him on the back. So, staying away from the blonde seemed like a good idea for now, at least until he got his head straight. Albus stretched and flopped onto his bed, looking up at the ceiling. The sheets had been the first thing he'd changed in his room. It made him feel incredibly dirty. Albus had always thought that losing his virginity should be special and that he'd hate himself if that weren't the case. However, now it had happened, Albus couldn't care less, apart from the fact his arse had ached for a bit afterwards. Albus was happy it was out of the way and over with. Plus, he'd had the added bonus of being drunk and it being with a trusted friend. Albus snorted loudly at that last thought and sat up, looking around at his messy room. Right. Time to get to work on this mess.

**oOo**

Scorpius relaxed back into his chair as he looked over at his girlfriend. There were seated in a quiet, modern restaurant and near a window that looked out over the River Thames. It was a muggle restaurant, as Prudence liked to play games that required pretending they weren't magical for the evening. She found it romantic or something. Scorpius just found it inconvenient. He'd much prefer just to have a nice pumpkin pasty off a vender in Diagon Alley, but no, that was not what Prudence liked. So, here he was. Scorpius had to admit, it was turning out to be a stunning evening, with a bottle of Chablis on ice and a flickering black candle in the middle of the table. Prudence looked lovely in candlelight, her black hair would glimmer and the deep, slightly sparkled red lipstick she wore glistened enticingly. She wore a diamond necklace that plunged down into her generous cleavage. So, all in all there was a lot for Scorpius to look at and a lot he'd be groping later.

"Oh, I can't come back with you later, Scorpy," she pouted, taking a sip of the expensive wine.

"Why's that?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow. She had a habit of being untouchable on the nights she looked most ravishing.

"Daddy wants me to be up early to greet the appraiser tomorrow…" she shrugged, batting her eyelashes at him, one foot stroked up Scorpius' leg. He didn't react which made her slip off her shoe, running her toes along his inner thigh.

"What are you having appraised this time?" Scorpius asked, swilling his wine and sniffing it.

"Oh! Just the big mirror in the library…Daddy doesn't think we need it anymore…" Prudence smiled, flashing a set of perfect white teeth.

"How's your mother?" Scorpius asked, bored of the conversation.

"Oh, as insufferable as always!" Prudence pulled an unattractive face that made Scorpius' stomach turn.

"Well...my father sends his regards…"

"You know…Potter looked to be a right mess on Saturday morning, Scorpy…" Prudence said, mocking worry in her voice. "Are you sure he's not ill?"

"What do you mean?" Scorpius' attention had been caught.

"Just that…he seemed shaken up…or am I mistaken?"

**oOo**

Scorpius slipped quietly into the flat. He'd left around seven thirty and had come back now at eleven forty-five. He noticed that the flat was unmistakably tidier than when he had left and smiled softly. Good old Albus. He went to his room, throwing off his jacket and flopping onto his bed. He sighed, wondering why he felt like tonight was such a massive failure. Was it because he hadn't got sex out of the end of it? Probably. He sat up, loosening his tie before lifting it up over his head, jolting his glasses. Scorpius simultaneously kicked off his shoes, undoing his shirt before pulling it off. He looked to the clock and down at his pants, knowing what his body so badly wanted. He leant down, slipping off his socks before standing and undoing his trousers. He slipped his boxers down a little, letting the cause of excitement spring free from his underwear. Scorpius let out a low sigh and began rubbing along the length of hot flesh.

"Come on, little man, just a quickie…" he muttered, rubbing over the head. He fell back onto the bed, pulling at his erection with sharp jerks in order to fully excite the sexual organ. Scorpius rarely did this, as he rarely needed to. He almost always had sex when he wanted it. Scorpius tugged at his balls with his free hand, massaging roughly into the tight flesh. A quick hand job before bed, really classy. Scorpius bit on his lip, jerking his hand up and down in fast and tight pumping actions. It wasn't long before his release oozed down his fingers, causing Scorpius to pull a face of disgust. He reached for the tissues and quickly mopped himself up, hoisting up his boxers. He slid off the bed and made for the door, flicking the light switch.

Albus was fast asleep in his bed, tucked under the dark covers. Scorpius slipped in quietly, tiptoeing to the bed and lifting up the covers a fraction. The rush of cold air into the warm depths of under the covers made Albus stir, curling up into the warmth. Scorpius slipped into the covers, turning his body towards Albus, scooping Albus towards him with a protective arm.

"Ah!" Albus exclaimed, obviously shocked as to why he was being grabbed.

"Just me, Al…" Scorpius muttered, kissing along Albus's neck softly.

"Scorp…stop it…" Albus stammered urgently, trying to wriggle free, but only managing to reposition himself so he was facing his best friend. "Stop it." Albus hissed out, voice hard and cruel.

"Oh, Al…you don't scare me…" Scorpius purred, lips falling to Albus's and receiving a pathetic moan as this happened. Albus pressed into him, hand resting lightly on Scorpius' bare chest. Scorpius just pried open Albus's soft lips with his warm, wet and rather frantic tongue. Albus moaned pathetically but suddenly pulled back.

"Scorp…no…I'm really tired…" Albus rested his forehead onto his friend's collarbone and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Okay…go to sleep…" Scorpius muttered, glad he'd already wanked off earlier otherwise he might not be able to stop himself from forcing the little brunette into submission. "Sleep tight…"

**oOo**

Scorpius groaned loudly at the bright light hitting his eyes as he stirred. He rolled to the side, hand groping around for the skinny body of his best friend. Instead, he got fistfuls of sheets. He opened one eye and peered around, slowly propping himself up on his elbows. The room smelt stuffy and the sheets smelt of Albus's fruity shampoo. Albus had probably gone to bed with wet hair again last night before he'd got in. He looked around at the Albus-less room before flopping back onto the mattress and groaning. He closed his eyes, listening out for sounds of Albus clattering around in the kitchen but everything was deadly silent. Like the whole world had paused. Scorpius' eyes snapped open and he sat up, scrambling out of the covers and twisting to look at the bedside table.

"SHIT!" Scorpius rolled out of the bed, hurriedly standing and making for the door, swinging around the frame and skidding across the hallway to his own room, pushing the door open. He flew towards his trousers. He didn't even bother putting on a new pair of boxers. He scrambled in his closet for clean work robes, tripping on a belt on the floor and bashing his nose.

**oOo**

_Scorpius groaned and looked over towards Macaire's bed and frowned. He looked over to Albus' and sat up sharply. Both beds were empty. He looked to the other two beds and his eyes widened. _

"_SHIT!" he jumped out of bed, grabbing his clothes and roughly pulling them on. This wasn't meant to be happening! Scorpius Malfoy was never late for lessons!_

_As he raced down the hallway he got points taken off for being out of class. When he got to class, he got detention for getting there half an hour too late. Albus wouldn't look at it, which made him all the more angry._

"_Why didn't you wake me up?" he snarled to the scared-looking Potter._

"_You…uh…Macaire said not to…" he muttered, looking fixedly at his hands._

"_Don't lie to me, Albus!" he growled loudly._

"_Fine…you were having a…" Albus turned bright red, ducking his head down, "sex dream…"_

"_I'm sorry, what?" _

"_You heard me! I'm not repeating!" Albus blushed, burying his face in a book._

"_So…you didn't wake me up, because?"_

"_I went to shake you and you almost pulled me into bed with you!"_

"_Ha! As if!"_

**oOo**

Albus sat back in his chair and stretched, shivering at the noises of his spine cracking as he did so. He rolled his neck backwards in little circles, trying to get rid of the dull ache that was pooling there from leaning over his desk. He was so bored as an Auror. At the moment nothing major was happening, nearly everything was just calm and peaceful. Albus thought it was all a bit suspicious, but everyone else loved the peace and quiet. It was all just paperwork and coffee breaks. He heard a commotion in the hallway and poked his head out of the glorified cubicle cum office door. Albus' eyes widened when he noticed that it was Scorpius and his father arguing.

"You're two hours late, Mr Malfoy!"

"Well, I'm sorry! But your son didn't wake me up!"

"Is my son your personal alarm clock? NO!"

Albus quickly stopped watching. How embarrassing. Harry and Scorpius usually got along so well and now they were arguing and at work too!

"I'm sorry, Mr Potter, sir…" Scorpius suddenly grumbled.

"I'm only going to punish your tardiness, Malfoy…but this is the last time I will put up with rudeness from you, understood?"

**oOo**

The end of the day dragged on and on, making Scorpius more exhausted by the second. Thing was it was time for everyone to go home. Everyone that didn't have mountains of paperwork to go through. That was the punishment. It was the backlog of everything that needed correcting or checking and it was causing Scorpius to wonder why he'd wanted to be an Auror. It wasn't hard to remember the reason, to be honest. It was because Albus had wanted to be an Auror and he wanted to prove he could be just as good as his best friend. Plus, he thought it would be awesome to work with him! And until today he'd continued to think so. He took a break, knowing that Albus would be heading home about now and went to their office. He caught the picture of Prudence being rather rude to Albus and turned it to face the wall.

"Hey, Al…" he grumbled, rather annoyedly.

"Hey! Scorpius! I haven't seen you all day, is everything okay?" Albus asked, voice bright and concerned. But Scorpius didn't care.

"No! I got into trouble today due to your little stunt!" he exclaimed, hands on his hips, glasses slipping down his nose.

"What do you mean?" Albus looked confused, turning to fully face his best friend.

"Oh! You know perfectly well! Why didn't you wake me up? Why didn't you let me know I was running late? Why did you just let me make a fool of myself in front of your father and our boss?" Scorpius was almost yelling now.

"Don't blame me! It's not my fault that your alarm isn't in my room!" Albus muttered, not appreciating being shouted at.

"Yeah! But it would have been nice to wake me up!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Scorpius! I'm sorry I don't drool on you like everyone else. Look after yourself!" Albus yelled in annoyance, ears going red. He grabbed wand and cloak and stalked off, leaving a rather shocked Scorpius to contemplate on what was just said.

**oOo**

Scorpius turned the key in the door and sighed, stepping into their apartment. It was quiet and he assumed that Albus had already gone to bed. He walked to the fridge and took out some leftovers, grabbing a fork and sitting at the old kitchen table. He got stuck in before noticing Albus had left his phone on the table. He looked over, nosily pressing a button. The screen was locked but it revealed that Albus had a text from someone called 'Patrick'. Scorpius frowned. He hadn't heard of a Patrick. Plus, he'd thought that Albus didn't have any friends! Why, all of a sudden did he have so much male attention? Scorpius paused and shook himself before carrying on eating. Once finished he put the bowl and fork into the sink and walked towards the bedrooms. He paused outside of Albus' room and slowly entered.

"Al…can I sleep next to you tonight?" he asked softly, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

"I don't think you should…" muttered the half asleep form of the smaller male.

"I won't cause any trouble…" Scorpius murmured, taking off his clothes.

"Wake yourself up…" Albus yawned, snuggling further into the covers.

With a sly grin Scorpius slipped into the covers, arms going around his best friend, kissing his shoulder once, a gentle, chaste kiss between friends. "Goodnight, Al…"

(A/N: Hello! I decided a little bit of balance was due, so I decided to switch point of views for a little bit! It's a bit of a filler chapter, I must admit. I'm a bit nervous about the scene with Scorpius jacking off. I don't want to be crude about it but I don't want to sugarcoat it with some poetic bullshit! So, please tell me whether you think that it's OTT or whether it's just right! I'd appreciate it! I'm not sure if I like this chapter. It's too…filler I think…but anyway, tell me what you think!

~Heloise)


	8. Seven: Tension

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:

Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:

Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,

And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Chapter Seven

Tension

Albus wriggled against something as he began to wake up. The warm breath on his neck tickled slightly and the soft hair at his nape really didn't help. He slipped himself around so that he was facing Scorpius, who appeared to still be asleep. Albus shuffled, liking the feel of their bare chests touching. He very lightly kissed Scorpius on the lips, running his fingertips along Scorpius' jaw before pulling back. He noticed that Scorpius was still wearing his glasses and lifted a hand to take them away. Scorpius' eyes snapped open, making Albus squeak.

"What are you doing?" Scorpius grunted sleepily, holding Albus tighter to him.

"Just…your glasses don't look comfortable to sleep in…" Albus said softly, letting his hand rest on his own chest.

"Well, you're wrong…" Scorpius grumbled, pushing his glasses back up his nose before leaning in and kissing Albus lightly on the lips. "Good morning…"

Albus shivered at the touch, hand resting on Scorpius' shoulder. He watched Scorpius as his eyes fell shut again as though he was denying that they had to wake up. Albus shuddered at the proximity of their bodies, this was something he could get used to and he wasn't sure that was the best idea. He reached out, tracing the lines of Scorpius' lips, not noticing that Scorpius' eyes had opened to watch him. Albus had a soft look on his face, but his lips were contorted into a frown. Scorpius leant down, kissing him softly, wanting that frown to turn into a smile. All he wanted was for his best friend to be happy. Al's eyes closed happily into the kiss, pressing into Scorpius desperately, not caring that Scorpius had extremely bad morning breath. The kiss was long and sweet and left Albus feeling a little empty as it ended and their lips parted.

"We should get up now…" Albus whispered pathetically into the fraction of air that separated their lips.

"Yes…probably…" Scorpius stroked through Albus' hair, pushing it away from his face. Scorpius slowly let go of Albus, freeing him to get up. Albus paused but sat up, the covers spooling down to his lap, revealing his skinny naked torso. Albus sat for a few moments, trying to wake up.

"You know…you have a birthmark on your back…" Scorpius said gently, reaching out and tracing it.

"I do? Since when?" Albus exclaimed, eyes wide with excitement, turning his head so he could get a good look at it. Scorpius chuckled, watching as Albus tried to see the mark. "Where?"

"Just here…" Scorpius stroked it gently, before getting up and slipping out of bed, making to the door. "Fifteen minutes till breakfast…"

Albus shivered at the touch and sat still until the door clicked shut. At this point he rolled over onto his front and buried his face into the pillow Scorpius had been using. It smelt of that incredible cologne his friend used and although it made him well up with happiness he couldn't even ignore the nagging sadness it created inside of him.

oOo

Albus sat at the breakfast table as Scorpius cleared away. He was rather full after eggs, toast and bacon. Albus licked his lips at the thought of bacon, despite the fact he was so full he didn't want to move.

"So, Al, what are your plans for the weekend?" Scorpius asked as he began to wash up.

"Visiting the 'rents…want to come along?" Albus yawned, stretching.

"Sure…Pru's not around this weekend anyway…" Scorpius shrugged, pushing his glasses up with his little finger. Albus frowned. It was good to know he was always, without fail, second to his best friend's girlfriend. Albus shrugged, getting up, getting a teacloth to help dry. "What are you doing Friday night?"

"Uh…dunno…probably not the pub…so, I guess I'll be around?" Albus muttered, hanging his head, hair covering his face. "I don't want to be hungover when I visit the family…"

"Okay…" Scorpius nodded, scrubbing hard at the pan.

"You need any help?" Albus asked, starting to stand up.

"No, Al…I'd rather not, I don't want you breaking anything!"

oOo

Albus was just ironing his suit when he heard his phone beep and jumped to it, wondering whom it could be. He picked up the black chunk of plastic and quickly unlocked the screen. Patrick. A text from Patrick. Albus felt himself blush red-hot. He hadn't expected to actually receive a text from Patrick but it made him incredibly happy. He licked his dry lips slowly before pressing 'view' to read it.

_Hey Albus! Sorry I didn't reply to your text earlier, I've been job hunting! I was wondering if you wanted to meet up and go on a date at some point?_

_Patrick. X_

Albus blushed. A date. He hadn't been on one of those before! He paused, not wanting to return the text immediately, but began to text back a very positive reply, saying he wouldn't be free till around next week. He sat, legs tucked up under himself as he leant back into the sofa, waiting a few moments to send the text. He took a deep breath and pressed send, closing his eyes as he waited for a return text. As his phone vibrated he felt his hands clam up and his heart beat a little faster. He read the text and grinned slightly to himself. A date for the following week. Albus felt his stomach flutter and his chest swell at the thought. Plus, Patrick was a very handsome blond man after all. As always Albus' mind couldn't help but completely dash those thoughts and hopes as Scorpius' head popped around the door to see what Albus was doing and all positivity seemed to drip from him. Scorpius was the one who Albus loved. Patrick wouldn't be able to erase that.

oOo

Work was slow that day, nothing being reported and nothing to be done, except paperwork. Albus was playing with a rubber band ball, throwing it at the wall and catching it, throwing, catching, throwing, catching. It was driving Scorpius absolutely mental. He looked over at Albus, ready to tell him off but felt himself unable to do so after noticing how happy Albus looked, smiling to himself. Scorpius watched him for a moment and then looked up to his notice board to the picture of himself and Albus at graduation and sighed, shaking his head. It wasn't the same. Not at all. Back then it was so…Scorpius shook his head, not allowing himself to linger on those thoughts. He looked back to Albus.

"Al…you should do some paperwork…" he muttered, causing Albus to look up.

"Huh?"

"Paperwork…" he pointed to the pile on Albus' desk, causing Albus to frown.

"I guess so…" he shrugged, running a hand through his hair.

_Scorpius sat in the common room, playing with a charmed paper plane that came back to you after you threw it. Albus was sat next to him, completely consumed by his work, face in deep concentration. He looked over to Scorpius and sighed deeply._

"_Scorp... you should really start on your homework now…" Albus murmured softly. _

_Scorpius looked over to him and grinned. "What? And stop having fun? Nah!"_

"_Scorpius! You don't want to get in trouble with Professor Sampson again, do you?" Albus sighed, watching his stupid friend. "That wouldn't be a good way to start the new term…"_

"_Fine… I guess so…" _

Scorpius frowned heavily, watching Albus read through the paperwork before grabbing his quill. He looked to his own work, catching the smirking gaze of Pru's animated picture. He scowled at it as it quickly battered it's eyelashes up at him.

A moment or two later a large white owl managed to bash into the window, slipping down the pane before suddenly reappearing, rapping on the glass with it's beak. Albus frowned, opening the window to let the creature in. Scorpius went to feed it cheese as Albus took the parchment from the bird's leg.

"Who's it from?" Scorpius asked, frowning as the owl sidled on over to nuzzle it's head into Scorpius' face.

"Um…" Albus opened the letter and scanned the bottom for a name. "Roland…"

"Oh…him…" Scorpius snorted, apologising abruptly as Albus glared darkly at him. Albus looked back to the letter.

_Dear Albus,_

_I'm writing to you as promised to inform you of my return to England! I completed my training here early and am glad to say that I'm on my way back as we speak. So, I guess the question is; are you still up for us meeting up some time in the near future? Maybe on a date? I had so much fun with you the last time we spent time together, it would be a shame to throw that away._

_Love_

_Roland Hooch. x_

Albus couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty, a wave of the awful feeling just shuddering through his every cell. He looked to his mobile to the letter. Like he was looking between Patrick and Roland. He blushed bright red, something that did not go unnoticed by Scorpius. He got some parchment and his ink and began to respond. Albus had decided that it wouldn't be cheating because it was just a few dates, it was still free, they could still see other people. He tied up the parchment and frowned at the affectionate owl as it moved away from him and closer to Scorpius.

"What can I say? Chicks love me!" Scorpius grinned. Albus groaned. Why was he best friends with this idiot?

oOo

Scorpius looked a little different to normal in his pink apron, stirring a big pan and humming to himself as he sprinkled in some pepper. There was an unamused look on his face was something similar to confusion. The smells were rich and slightly sweet. Scorpius was currently reducing a stock to form the bulk of a sauce…or something like that. The table was laid with two glasses or red one and a single long candle. It was sweet and simple and considerate of Scorpius. Very considerate. Scorpius pushed his glasses up his nose, licking his dry lips. Before long he was plating the food up, he swung his head round into the living room where Albus was flicking between channels on the _muggle_ television set that he had insisted on having in the house.

"Al, dinner's ready…" Scorpius gave his most dashing smile. Albus look up at him as there was a pop in the kitchen and a shuffling noise.

"Actually I'm not hungry, Scorp…I think I'll go to bed…" the dark-haired male offered instead, standing up and walking towards the hallway, back turned to the taller male.

Scorpius stared in disbelief as his flatmate walked away, still standing in the doorway, wondering what had just happened. They'd made a plan. A full on plan. What had happened?

"Ugh…who's this for?" Macaire coughed uncomfortably from within the kitchen.

"Huh? What? Noone…when did you get here?" Scorpius snarled, spinning around and glaring at his rather more absent flatmate.

"Just now…I'm back for the weekend. I think I'll go take my stuff to my room…" Macaire winced, squeezing past the furious blond in order to get to the corridor.

Albus looked up as Macaire entered his room, giving him a meaningful stare. He came over to the bed, sitting down next to him and waiting a few moments in the awkward silence.

"Welcome back…" Albus muttered, looking towards the dark-skinned male.

"So…what was all that about?" Macaire requested, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing…just needed some space, that's all. I'm off to visit the family tomorrow…so just slipping in some me time before I go!" Albus muttered, voice dead pan and bland.

"Well…you won't mind if I come along then…"

(A/N: Okay so I haven't updated in a while and this chapter is long overdue. I have started writing the next chapter you will be happy to know and hope to update soonish. But obviously it is Christmas soon and so I will be spending a lot of time with family. I'd really like some reviews on the story so far, what you'd like to see happen, and what you'd really hate seeing. I know it's not very long, unfortunately, but that's just because it's a bit of a filler chapter, my least-favourite kind of chapter…ever…I'm not going to talk about this chapter as there's not much to say, really! I hope you enjoyed and will continue to read!

~Heloise )


	9. Eight: The Potters

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:

Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:

Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,

And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Chapter Eight

The Potters

Albus sighed heavily as he waiting in the hallway for Macaire to hurry up and finish whatever it was he needed to do so desperately before visiting the Potters. Albus ran a hand through his damp hair and sighed slightly, catching his reflection in the hallway mirror. He looked a mess, bags under his eyes and skin pale and almost greying from tiredness, if that were possible, which he sincerely hoped not. He sighed and licked his dry, chapped lips, hoisting the strap of his bag higher up his shoulder, watching the way the strap looked on his skinny frame. He hated his shoulders, as odd as that sounded. They were narrow and slightly slopey, almost feminine, not at all masculine or attractive. It was no wonder he was gay to be honest. He caught the reflection of Scorpius watching him from a doorway, making him jump, bag strap slipping down his shoulder more.

"Scorp! You scared me!" Albus gasped, hoisting up his back as he turned to look at the real Scorpius, not the reflection.

"Sorry…where are you headed off to?" Scorpius asked nonchalantly, eyes assessing Albus as though Albus were about to be revealed as a spy.

"Oh…uh…me and Macaire are off to visit my parents…" Albus nodded, licking his dry lips once more.

"Great, then you won't mind if I come along!" Scorpius seemed to brighten at the thought.

"Oh…you don't have to…" Albus laughed nervously, looking to see if Macaire was nearly ready or not.

"But I want to," smiled Scorpius thinly, walking off towards his room. "I'll just pack an overnight bag, won't be long!"

oOo

It was a pleasant entrance into the warm and welcoming home of the Potters, the fire was lit and the whole house smelt of delicious foods. Scorpius had been hugged almost aggressively by Lily when they had arrived, much to Macaire's dislike and Albus' shuddering disgust. Albus didn't even get a hug from his sister.

"Boys! So lovely of you to visit!" grinned Ginny, wearing her quidditch apron well.

"And thank you so much for having us, Mrs Potter," smiled Macaire, nervously retrieving a hug from the woman greeting them. Macaire was blushing slightly as he was let go, not used to Ginny being so forward in her affections for her son's friends.

"Oh! It's no problem at all!" she laughed brightly, hugging Scorpius next before her son, bag falling off his shoulder.

"I'm guessing they've arrived then?" Harry asked, coming through from the study and nodding to the boys.

"Well…we weren't expecting all three of you to stay, but Macaire you can camp in with Lily and Scorpius and Albus will be sharing, I suppose!" Ginny grinned.

"Yeah, no problem!" Scorpius smiled, looking to Albus' reaction but frowning as he saw Albus was stoicly looking away.

"You better not snore like you did last time, Mac!" Lily grinned, punching him on the shoulder. "Let's take your stuff up to my room then!"

Scorpius tapped Albus on the shoulder lightly. "Hey…"

"What?" Albus muttered, turning to look at him.

"Shall we follow their lead?" Scorpius smiled dashingly to Albus and suddenly Albus felt himself melt and he nodded with a slight smile.

oOo

"So…what's with Al and Scorp?" Lily asked as they set up the camp bed in her room.

"Huh?" Macaire asked, shaken from temporarily staring at her behind. "Oh…uh…I'm not sure…"

"Well…there must be something…right?" Lily asked softly, turning round and looking to Macaire, shaking her red hair from her face.

"Well…" Macaire paused, looking around Lily's soft, pink and rather understated room, "I think there is something up…"

"Did they have an argument?"

"I don't know…I'm not around much…but…they give each other such different signals all the time!" Macaire exclaimed, sitting on Lily's bed as he began to put cases on the pillows.

"Like what?" Lily asked as she put the mattress cover on the camp bed.

"One moment they're acting…super close…next distant…then there's when one is just sad…I think something's up…" Macaire shook his head.

"Well…we'll find out…" Lily nodded definitely, throwing a pillow at Macaire.

oOo

Dinner was laid out beautifully, an assortment of different flavours. It looked beautiful and Albus was absolutely starving, he piled his plate high, much to the disgust of his mother, who scorned him for being so greedy. Not that Albus could care when he wasn't paying for it or cooking it! "So, any news?" Albus asked with his mouth full, causing Macaire to cough out a laugh.

"Lily's trying out for professional quidditch!" Ginny exclaimed in absolute triumph.

"What? Really?" Macaire exclaimed, looking hurt he hadn't been told.

"Mum!" Lily exclaimed angrily, shaking her head. "Well, I wasn't going to tell anyone in case I didn't succeed…"

"But you will!" Albus exclaimed loudly. "Wow, Lils! Go you!"

"Al…I haven't even tried out yet! Don't get your hopes up!" smiled Lily; unable to hold back how much the thought excites her. "How about you, what news do you have?"

"Well…I've got a date next Thursday…" Albus blushed, noticing the way Scorpius' head snapped to him as he said it.

"Oh! And who is he?" Ginny asked softly.

Scorpius froze. He? So his family knew about Albus being gay? It was just him that was the last person to know. Not even Macaire looked shocked.

"He's a muggle…called Patrick…" smiled Albus, stuffing his face with more food to hide his embarrassment.

"Oh wow! That's exciting!" Ginny grinned. "I'm so happy for you!"

oOo

Scorpius sought out Lily after dinner, finding her washing the dishes and offering a hand to help. He stood there, drying the dishes silently for a few moments before either of them spoke.

"So, what's on your mind?" Lily asked softly, looking to him and smiling at how well he held himself as always. Even Lily couldn't deny how handsome the Malfoy was.

"Well…you all knew Albus was gay?" Scorpius asked after another moment of silence as he thought the question over first. He pushed his glasses up his nose, pausing his drying to watch her reaction to his question. At first the only reply he received from her was a gentle smile and then she looked to him, lips parting to speak.

"One day Al told us he was going on a date at dinner, mum asked who she was and Albus just calmly said 'not she, mum, he…' and then calmly told her the details she needed to know…" Lily smiled to him. "It was as simple as that…and for some reason it wasn't a shock enough for us to ask him anymore questions…we pretty much just took it and accepted it…"

"How long have you known?" Scorpius muttered, looking down now and away from her pretty, serene face.

"Around three years? Something like that…"

"Wow…"

"Wait! Don't tell me that was when you found out?" Lily asked, eyes widening in shock.

"Oh…no…but it wasn't that long ago…when he came home with a guy…"

"Oh dear…"

"He's my best friend…I just thought…"

"That you knew everything about him?" Lily offered, stroking the top of Scorpius' arm gently. "Well…my brother doesn't know I've got a thing for one of his best friends…so…I'm sure we can all live not knowing something, can't we?" Lily smiled, offering a soft wink to him and going back to cleaning.

oOo

Albus lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, just wearing his Chudley Cannons pyjama bottoms. He looked over to Scorpius who was in his boxers, in the process of pulling his t-shirt off. Albus bit his lip at the ripple of muscles on the side of Scorpius' torso. He shifted his hips slightly for comfort, knowing what watching Scorpius could do to his inexperienced body. Scorpius noticed his staring so added in a few stretches, the corners of his mouth tugged up into a smirk as Albus looked away hurriedly. He slowly walked over to his friend, leaning over, knees resting on the bed. He leant down, lips brushing over Albus' neck.

"Ah! Scorpius!" Albus gasped, face flushing hot red.

"Mm…yes, Albus?" Scorpius rolled his friend's name over his tongue as though he were making love to it in his mouth. Albus groaned loudly as Scorpius began to suckle on his neck gently. Although he pushed Scorpius away a little. "Scorp…stop it…this isn't funny…"

"Hm…I wasn't trying to be…" he retorted, straddling the brunette slowly, leaning down to kiss Albus long and hard. Albus couldn't help but slip his arms around Scorpius' neck, hands weaving into the soft hair at the nape. Albus lifted his body up into the blond's, eager to feel flesh touching flesh. As it happened Albus felt sharp pains of electricity, causing him to groan and excite in his nether regions. Albus groaned as his mouth was pried open by Scorpius' wet, hot tongue, lapping up into the roof of his mouth, tickling and pleasurable to the Potter beneath him. Scorpius grunted in both shock and pleasure as Albus stroked down Scorpius' back. Albus let his fingers slip into the grooves of the muscles below, his hands trying to memorize every shape and curve. He felt over the scar from sixth year and felt himself drawn back, guilt flooding him.

_Albus had been furious at Scorpius, furious for kicking him out of their room during the Christmas holidays so he could fuck his girlfriend senseless. He'd been curled up on the large sofa but the fire had gone out and Albus had been too cold to sort it out, let alone move from under his thin dressing gown. When morning had come, the morning of Christmas Eve, when Prudence had packed up and left to go home for the holiday, Albus had marched up, sniffing back the cold he'd caught that night and barged into the room. Scorpius was making his way from the bathroom, avoiding a nail as he did so, shocked to see Albus stood there angry. He hadn't cared that Scorpius stood almost completely naked, with only a towel hanging as he held it to cover his crotch. _

"_WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Albus exclaimed, face red and hot and sweaty from both his cold and the anger. _

"_Whoa, calm down, Albus…" Scorpius muttered, slipping the towel around his waist, flashing Albus a generous amount of genitals. Albus was too angry to care. _

"_What's wrong with you? Answer me!" Albus exclaimed, tears beginning to splash down his cheeks before he hurriedly wiped them away. _

_Scorpius furrowed his brow, coming over to his best friend and reaching out to help wipe the tears away. Albus just bashed his arm away. _

"_Don't touch me! Not after you've been touching her for god knows how long?" Albus exclaimed, reaching out and pushing Scorpius angrily on the chest, making the blonde stumble back._

"_Hey, Al, calm down, let's talk about this. What's the real problem here?" he asked, trying to be gentle with the livid brunette._

"_CALM DOWN?" Albus growled, pushing Scorpius back again, this time into the doorframe to the bathroom. There was a yelp as Scorpius slid against a loose nail that the boys had been meaning to fix and the splatter of blood on the floor. Albus looked at it and with a wave of light-headedness and nausea he passed out. He still claims it was the cold from this day._

Albus pulled from the kiss, much to Scorpius' dismay and lifted Scorpius' arm and ducked under it and to the side a bit so he could get a look at that scar. "Ow…" he muttered, feeling over the thick white skin.

"Al…not this again…" Scorpius muttered, kissing along Al's shoulder to try and distract him.

"It's still not gone…after all these years…"

"It's your mark on me…" Scorpius laughed, a bit of bitterness in his throat. He didn't like the imperfection at all.

"What? To remind you that your best friend is a selfish old cow who gets jealous when you spend time with your girlfriend and not him?" Albus muttered, still stroking the scar.

"No…that you mean a hell of a lot to me and that's what you get when you upset a Potter…" muttered Scorpius. "My dad's got a scar from your dad, you know…"

Albus looked up, eyes wide. "Really?"

"Don't sound so excited. It was a bit of an accident. Your dad was dim enough to try out a spell he knew little about and it ended up causing a hell of a lot of bloodloss from my dad…in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom I think it was…" Scorpius paused, kissing Al's shoulder. "Just one scar though…a deep gash across his stomach…clean and exact…"

"Oh…dad never told me that…" muttered Albus. "I knew they didn't get along…but I didn't think they fought!"

Scorpius laughed long and hard at that comment, still half on top of the naïve friend. "You're kidding me, right?"

"No…should I be?"

"Yeah, you should…our dad's hated each other…how did you become an auror again?"

"Shut up…"

"Ha! Okay…only if you shut up with me…" Scorpius leant up, kissing Albus, cursing at the awkward positioning of their limbs. Albus sneakily managed to crawl ontop of Scorpius, making him turn up to face Albus. Albus stroked his hands over Scorp's chest, leaning down to kiss Scorp's neck. "Al…you don't have to…ah…" he moaned as Albus sunk his teeth into him as he worked hard at a section of skin. "Al! No marks!" he pushed the boy back who, undeterred, began lapping at the blonde's slightly peachy skin, down to his navel. Scorpius couldn't hide how excited he was, how close the hot, breathy kisses and licks were to his nether regions.

In the morning Albus awoke to the bright light of the window that they'd forgotten to draw the curtains on the night before. He sighed, eyes and lips frowning at the intrusion into his dreams. He rolled slightly, hoping to fall into the warmth of his best friend but finding only the cold bedsheets. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes. He remembered every moment of the night before, how they'd made love and Albus couldn't even remember how he'd fallen asleep, guilt ridden and lost and empty. He swung his legs out of bed, looking down in disgust as his naked body, dirtied from the night before. He reached for his wand and cast a quick spell on himself and the bed sheets. But no amount of cleansing charm made him feel better right now. No matter how many times he would repeat it. He stood up, quickly clothing himself and heading downstairs.

When he reached the kitchen he found Scorpius at the kitchen table, discussing in soft debate the headlines of the Daily Prophet with his father, sipping away at fresh coffee. Macaire stared at him from across the table with almost knowing eyes, Lily offering him a soft wave, his mother coming to kiss his cheek and shove a plate of food to him. But still no matter how many times he looked to his blond friend he received no response. A nod from his father, and not as much as a glance from Scorpius.

(A/N: Hello! So, this is much more of a filler chapter and I'm not sure how happy I am with it but I don't wish to linger on it too much longer! It's not worth it! I'd like you all to tell me what you think of it and also if you like where the story seems to be going? Thank you!

-Heloise)


	10. Nine: New Partner

Title: Don't Hold Me Too Close

Author: hfmalfoy

Rating: R.

Warnings: May become slightly emo with the amount of moping around but let's hope it's not too much!

Disclaimer: I own a towel with Harry's face on it.

Summary: Albus Potter now works for the Ministry of Magic. In fact he works in an office with Scorpius Malfoy. After work Scorpius goes on dates with his girlfriend. Albus likes to go drink firewhisky on his own. It's perfectly healthy, or so he tells himself. Scorpius decides to take action into his own hands. He graces Albus with company one night. And the consequences go to show that there's a reason Albus drinks alone. What happens after that...well...it sure messes with Albus' head.

Don't Hold Me Too Close

"Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest:  
Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers:  
Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest,  
And weaves itself into my midnight slumbers!" William S. Gilbert

Chapter Nine

New Partner

When Monday came Albus headed into work alone, having received an owl from his father to come straight to his office. Albus had pondered as he'd brushed his teeth whether to knock on Scorpius' door and see if he'd wanted to come into work early with him. However, considering how late the blonde had gone to bed, Albus hadn't thought it would be sensible.

The Auror Department of the ministry was reasonably quiet as a lot of them were out on assignments or hadn't yet come in as it was still early. Albus went to his cubicle-office that he shared with Scorpius and hung his cloak up on the hook, putting his bag on the desk. He checked himself in the mirror, smoothing down that insufferable bit of hair that liked to stick up at the back. Albus sighed, noticing the framed picture of Pru making faces at him and mouthing foul words of greeting. Albus simply smirked at it, but soon remembered he wasn't deserving of a smirk and so he simply looked away, clearing his throat before stepping into the hallway.

The walk to his father's office was one that Albus knew very well, and as he greeted people on the way towards it, he never dreamed that actually, this might not be the casual 'Hey, Al, your mother needed me to tell you' that an urgent 'come in early' would generally mean. He knocked on the door, rolling his neck back and shrugging his shoulders, trying to get rid of the slight dull ache he had there. There was a few moments pause before the door opened itself and Albus confidently walked in.

"Albus, sit down," Harry said, eyes looking tired and gesturing with his quill to the seat opposite the large desk.

"Good morning, sir, how are you?" Albus said with a smile, sitting down and crossing his legs neatly.

"Exhausted, there's a lot of illegal magic going on this week, more than I'd care to admit," Harry started to trail off into a mutter before finishing off the parchment he was currently writing on and placing it down and looking up with a thin smile. "Now, I'm guessing you're wondering why I've called you in?"

"Well, I'm assuming, by that statement, that it's not the usual?" Albus muttered, sinking back in the chair, preparing himself for something maybe not to casual.

"No, Albus, not today. Although Ginny sends her love," Harry nodded, sitting forwards in his chair, taking the snitch on his desk and rolling it around in his hands. "I've noticed a decline in your work recently."

Albus gulped, sitting up straight suddenly. "What do you mean?"

"You've, how should I put it? Become distracted," Harry said gently, still fiddling with the golden ball. "Therefore, in the best interests of this department I've come to a decision."

Albus closed his eyes, waiting to hear that he was being dumped. It was because Scorpius had been picking up his slack, he just knew it. Albus wasn't good enough, he'd not been doing enough for himself. He'd been too reliant, too clumsy.

"I'm assigning you a new partner," nodded Harry, putting the snitch down in its holder.

"What? Why? What's wrong with Scorpius?" Albus exclaimed, a panicked look in his eyes, unfolding his legs so he could have both feet firmly planted on the ground.

"You two are good friends, I know this. However, Albus, I think that's getting in the way. Your work is suffering, you're not acting up to the usual standard I would expect from you," Harry said calmly, trying hard to keep himself professional and not act the loving father he wanted to be.

"Have you told Scorpius?" Albus asked, hands clenching the fabric at his knees. His head was spinning, images of how angry Scorpius was going to be, floating around in his head.

"No, Albus, not yet," Harry muttered, handing Albus a folder. "This has the details of your next assignment and where you'll find your new partner. I think she'll guide you forwards from there. She's one of our best and brightest new aurors."

oOo

Albus walked out of the office, clutching the folder in his hands, face pale from the shock of his visit to the Head Auror's office. He went straight to his own section and began clearing his desk and belongings into the trunk of supplies he kept underneath it. All of his paperwork was transferred onto Scorpius' desk and chair, ready there for Scorpius to sort out with his own new partner. Albus knew Scorpius would be finding out in a matter of minutes as he'd been called straight to Harry's office to discuss the matter.

Albus enchanted the boxes and picked them up, making his way towards a cubicle much further away from his own. The walk there was awkward as people began to whisper about why Albus was carrying boxes of his office things across the room. He rapped lightly on the rickety door with his knuckles and waited for his new partner to answer. There was a short moment and the door swung open, shaking with the sheer force of the enthusiasm behind the swing.

"Hello! You must be Albus Potter!" a petite blonde girl smiled up at him, eyes glistening. "I'm Katherine Glover. But you, sir, can call me Kitty!"

Albus raised his eyes. Now, there must be a blonde conspiracy going on, at least that's what Albus thought, noticing that Kitty's shade of blonde almost identically matched Scorpius'. "Right, it's uh…Nice to meet you, Kitty." Albus nodded, trying to adjust his box so he could shake her hand.

"Oh goodness! No need for formalities, just pop your stuff down and we can go get a drink!" grinned Kitty, bouncing in to the room and waiting for Albus to follow. Albus did, of course, as it would be rude not to. He placed the box down on the empty desk and turned to look around the room. It was a bit crazy in here. There were cushions everywhere, crystals and gems hanging from the ceiling, causing reflections and patterns on the walls.

"Oh, ug, wow. It's very-?" Albus failed to find the word.

"Girly? I can change it if you like!" Kitty exclaimed nervously. "If you don't like it-"

"No!" Albus snapped, a little too suddenly, clearing his throat and nodding to calm himself down. "I like it. A lot."

"Phew! What a relief! It took me ages putting these up!" Kitty giggled, smiling kindly.

The next few hours consisted of Kitty making them both two sickly sweet cups of teas, and retreating back to their den, well, desks, but Albus could of sworn it was as good as a den. Albus discovered that although Kitty was a bit perky and wide-eyed and overall optimistic, she was, in fact, an extremely easy person to get along with. The hours passed without problem and Albus was becoming slowly more and more glad that he'd met her. As lunchtime came the two of them went out into London to a muggle restaurant and chatted aimlessly about this, that and the other. A nice change for Albus, as he felt like no one expected anything of him, especially not this bright young female. The afternoon consisted on updating them on their new cases, one of which was a continuation of the last field job that Albus and Scorpius had gone on together.

"Well, looks like it's almost the end of the day," smiled Kitty, sitting back in her chair and stretching.

"Yeah, although it doesn't feel like it. Time's gone so fast today!" Albus smiled, his cheeks dimpling slightly at his earnest.

"Yes, I suppose it has," Kitty grinned and stood to put on her cloak.

"I don't suppose you'll want to go grab a drink with me, would you? I know a pub that does some great food! And not too pricey either?" Albus smiled, standing himself slowly.

"Oh?" Kitty smiled, slipping on her cloak. "Well, why not? Let's do it!" she grinned happily to the older male.

"Alright," Albus smiled, leaving the room to lead the way, cloak over his arm, bag in his other hand.

Albus walked past their old office but didn't look in, chatting softly with the short girl by his side. Scorpius, on his way back to his desk, saw Albus leaving, picking up on him tell her about what drinks were served and he felt himself tense up, rolling his neck in frustration, clenching his fist. So, that was how it was now, eh?

"Malfoy?" a quiet voice said from somewhere behind the blonde. He turned, eyes falling on a small-built, dark-haired male with a sort of ruffled or tousled hairstyle and clear, hazel eyes.

"Uh, yes?" Scorpius asked, allowing the brunette a quick, and generous, grimace.

"Hello, I'm your new partner, you can call me Roderick, Jeremy Roderick," the brunette held out his hand, offering it to Scorpius to shake. And, with a mischievous hint to his lips, Scorpius started to smirk and indeed, he shook his hand.

oOo

Scorpius rolled over in the bed, head throbbing slightly from the night before. He groaned and felt the covers moving over him, pulled away. He froze, listening out as his eyes began to open. Someone else was here.

Scorpius sat up, rubbing his eyes, reaching for his glasses and putting them on, looked over to the other side of his bed. There was a mess of dark hair poking out of the top of his covers. His eyes widened, hurriedly scurrying out of bed. Albus isn't allowed in here! No! No! No! That's not how this is meant to happen? He sort of turned in a panic on the spot, hand running through his hair, before rushing to the other side of the bed. He felt himself let out he breath he'd been holding in as he noticed that the male in the bed was, indeed, not pale enough to be Albus.

Then it hit him. Last night he had sex with his new partner.

oOo

Albus hadn't slept a wink all night, unable to get the sound of what he'd heard last night out of his head. He had heard two male voices, hot and bothered, screaming, moaning, grunting out into the quiet night. They had come from across the hallway in Scorpius' room.

Albus looked to the clock and decided to get up. It would be better to get up now then wait and have to face Scorpius and his latest conquest in the kitchen later. He quickly got up and dressed before grabbing a breakfast bar from the cupboard and headed off without a word.

oOo

"Good morning…" Scorpius said awkwardly as he placed the cup of tea on the beside table next to Jeremy's side of the bed as the brunette woke up.

"Oh." Was all Jeremy managed as he slowly sat up.

"Right," Scorpius muttered, fully dressed now as he sat on the end of the bed. "So, I guess we got to know each other pretty well last night, right?" Scorpius forced on an awkward smile and Jeremy just looked down with a nod, sipping on the tea brought in for him.

"Scorpius, I-" Jeremy cut himself short, shaking his head. "This shouldn't have happened." The tan shade of Jeremy's skin began to redden all the way down to his neck. "This shouldn't happen again."

"I agree, Roderick," Scorpius nodded, standing up and leaving. "I've cleaned your clothes, they're in the bathroom on a clean towel. Let's start fresh today, okay?" Scorpius said, hovering in the doorway, waiting for a nod, before leaving.

(A/N: i can confirm right now that there will be around 31 overall chapters to this story. And I guess at the end of that if people want an epilogue they'll get that too! And I'm aware that 31 seems pretty daunting right now, considering that I'm only on 9 but I'm going to try better to keep updating. This story is my baby, I hate to think I'm letting it down.

I'm so sorry how long it's taking me to write this. I don't think I've updated for like…nearly a whole year? On this story. Last update on in general was July. I am a bad, bad person. But here's an update on my life that I know you all really wanted ;)

I'm doing an Illustration course now and I'm much happier. I have made some amazing friends, one of which is just like me. We're so similar it's scary but in a good way. She's the kind of friend I've been waiting for my whole life. Sounds cheesy, but it's true :D

-Heloise)


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